The European Parliament has backed a directive which would oblige tech companies to take responsibility for copyrighted material illegally shared on their platforms. Under the proposal, uploaded content providers such as YouTube and Facebook will be required to remove infringing material, while users who upload it themselves could face fines of up to €50 million (£45 million). The directive's most divisive sections are Articles 11 and 13, which some fear will force platforms to pay to share links and could mean user-generated memes which infringe on copyrights are banned. Content producers could see more revenue following the controversial directive, which is not yet finalised.
The European Parliament has backed a directive which would oblige tech companies to take responsibility for copyrighted material illegally shared on their platforms. The European Union Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market moves the onus of enforcement from copyright holders (e.g. newspapers and broadcasters) to platforms such as YouTube and Facebook. The directive's most divisive sections are Articles 11 and 13, which some fear will force platforms to pay to share links and could mean user-generated memes which infringe on copyrights are banned. Content producers could see more revenue following the controversial directive, which is not yet finalised.