I do not know if any of you think about all the events that have happened in history. Perhaps you still remember where you were when you heard the news, whether good or bad.
One of the events that we will probably remember while the internet exists is a new law, Article 13, that was passed this year in the European Union. The European Union has made a law based on the Copyrights. This proposal started in September 2016, which was based on the author’s rights in the digital market.
This new law was an update of the current directive approved in 2001 in which Article 11 and Article 13 are included. Article 11 is about press publications from citations to links, giving publishers the right to prohibit or authorize an indexation for two decades. Article 13, which was passed this year, is based on the monitoring of protected content by platforms, requiring them to monitor what users upload to their networks.
Now that this law was passed, there are a lot of controversies, since the sites that allow their users to publish texts, sound, images, videos, photos, or other types of works will have to be filtered through a database protected by the author’s right. Many people think that this can not only be a threat to freedom of expression, but also to the internet in general. For example, platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Google, and Wikipedia will have to ensure that their content does not involve copyright violence or else it will be seen in a series of demands by the author. Therefore, these platforms will monitor all the content that the users upload in a massive way.
Thanks to this new law, people like YouTubers in Europe are at risk of having their YouTube channels closed due to Article 13. Since many of their content contains either a song, image, or a text that is not theirs, which can be demanded by the author or graphics companies. As you know today, it is very common to live through social networks, so what will happen to people in Europe who live on YouTubers, bloggers, or vloggers? This will only be answered in time.
On the other hand, it is good to know what would happen if this law also reached the United States. What would happen to that public outside the United States? And if you did not know, the United States is a country to which many people see it as an influence, and if from tomorrow night, if it is no longer, what would happen to cultures like Asia, Latin America and Europe itself?
Since many of these cultures are influenced in one way or another by the United States, therefore my opinion based on this is that maybe it could be a good thing, because this would make these continents seek part of their identity and influence elsewhere, not just the United States. But this is only my opinion, what do you think? Could this law also reach the United States or could something similar happen?
