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Tuesday, June 19, 2018

EU: They're breaking the Internet & Copyright tomorrow

My normal focus is U.S. storytelling, with Net Neutrality here an issue requiring me to speak up, but the EU is taking action tomorrow that will affect the internet and copyright -- which is already messed up enough.  The EU will massively harm small publishers, new startups, and creators, including storytellers, across the world if they succeed.
Please go to https://savethelink.org/tweet-your-mep-saveyourinternet?src=162723#... for more information and the way to Tweet or email the 9 Members of the European Parliament who are all that stands in the way of the most drastic upheaval to the Internet and Copyright in its history.
If it helps you write a response, this is the message I sent each of them.  Feel free to adapt it.
Subject: Storytellers say Censoring Links Will Break the Internet
For freedom of expression, and for independent creators, small publishers and startups, please use your JURI vote to #SaveYourInternet.
I work as assistant administrator to Professional Storyteller and know this is important for storytellers throughout the E.U. including your own countries.   My own blog often requires
  • Creativity and free speech which will be harmed by Article 13 because algorithms struggle to tell the difference between infringement and the legal use of copyrighted material vital to research, commentary, parodies and more. This is far too high a cost for enforcing copyright.  Copyright was intended to include Public Domain for older material to keep our cultural heritage alive!  Just today I had an email from someone seeking guidance on this very issue and related to my own segments on "Keeping the Public in Public Domain."
  • No filter can possibly review every form of content covered by the proposal including text, audio, video, images and software. Article 13's mandate is technically infeasible and it is absurd to expect courts in 27 EU Member States to be constantly working out what the “best” filters might be.
  • It is a bad idea to make Internet companies responsible for enforcing copyright law. To ensure compliance and avoid penalties, platforms are sure to err on the side of caution and overblock. To make compliance easier, platforms will adjust their terms of service to be able to delete any content or account for any reason. That will leave victims of wrongful deletion with no right to complain – even if their content was perfectly legal.

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