Sites Warn EU Users Of Just How Bad Article 13 Will Be
As we mentioned, a bunch of websites started protesting yesterday in the lead up to next week's vote on Article 11 and Article 13 that will fundamentally change the nature of the internet. The main ones were various European Wikipedia editions, which completely blacked out and posted a warning message. Here's the one in Germany (with automatic browser translation -- the original, obviously, is in German):
Different sites are doing different things -- and for some it depends on whether you're visiting from the EU or not, but it's good to see so many sites coming together on this. Reddit, as explained in a blog post on its site, are telling any EU Redditor who tries to post something new that it's blocked:
Lots of others have stepped up as well. The ever popular online streaming site Twitch is warning people in a variety of ways, including creating a video about its concerns:
Everyday creators and viewers come together to do amazing things on Twitch. Article 13 is bad copyright reform that could limit the content you create and share. Together, we can stop this. Learn more and take action at https://t.co/KBnAWle9rc. pic.twitter.com/CZdcG7gmbp
— Twitch (@Twitch) March 21, 2019
And has also put the message all over its social media:
Patreon, the very popular website for helping creators get paid has warned its creators that under Article 13, it may need to block their content:
Today Patreon stands with European creators against Article 13 of the EU’s Copyright Directive. If Article 13 passes, all your content could be blocked before it's even posted.
Call your MEPs and ask them to vote against Article 13 at https://t.co/P7j02VJuyP #SaveYourInternet pic.twitter.com/vXEVBiW8o0
— Patreon (@Patreon) March 21, 2019
Others who have spoken up include Creative Commons and the Internet Archive:
Another site that joined in -- which we'll refrain from screenshotting -- is the most popular porn site on the internet, Pornhub.
Between all of this, the question now remains: will the EU Parliament ignore all of these voices? Ignore all of the over 5 million people who signed a Petition against Article 13? Will it ignore all the companies who have said that Article 13 will put them at a disadvantage compared to Google? Will it ignore of the content creators who rely on platforms like Twitch and Patreon?
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