Poland takes copyright crackdown to court
May 24, 2019NEWS FROM OPEN KNOWLEDGE FOUNDATION
EMBARGO: IMMEDIATE
POLAND TAKES COPYRIGHT CRACKDOWN TO EU COURT
Poland has submitted a complaint to the Court of Justice of the European Union about the EU’s controversial copyright crackdown. Six countries originally voted against the proposal which has been opposed by 5million people through a Europe-wide petition, including Poland. The proposal is expected to lead to the introduction of ‘filters’ on sites such as YouTube, which will automatically remove content that could be copyrighted. While entertainment footage is most likely to be affected, academics fear it could also restrict the sharing of knowledge, and critics argue it will have a negative impact on freedom of speech and expression online
Catherine Stihler, chief executive of the Open Knowledge Foundation, said: “This is an extremely welcome move by Poland which could save the internet from this deeply unpopular copyright crackdown. “If this plan goes ahead we risk creating a more closed society at the very time we should be using digital advances to build a fair, free and open future. “With voters across Europe going to the polls, it is to be hoped the new cohort of MEPs will champion openness and stop this chilling attack on freedom of expression.”
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
Read more here: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-copyright-poland/poland-files-complaint-with-eus-top-court-over-copyright-rule-change-idUSKCN1SU0T9
Contact: Alan Roden at alan.roden@okfn.org or +44 (0)7753 904 531
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