Today, the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union, and the European Commission reached a political agreement on the proposed Copyright Directive. If enacted as currently reported, this EU-wide legislation will impose draconian copyright obligations on nearly all internet services and companies, requiring content-upload filters, convoluted and uncertain licensing agreements with the entertainment industries, and the payment of a link tax to news incumbents. Public Knowledge strongly opposes the mandates found in Article 13 and Article 11.
Today, Public Knowledge endorsed the Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace. The Call, developed through a multistakeholder process facilitated by the French government, promotes a rules-based cyberspace that respects human rights and fundamental freedoms by applying international law. The Call kicks-off a multi-year effort to realize its principles, and recommends a progress assessment one year after its publication.
On April 12th, the Irish High Court elevated a series of questions to the European Court of Justice (ECJ, the Supreme Court of the European Union) regarding the validity of key legal instruments used by American tech companies to process Europeans’ personal data. Judge Caroline Costello of the Irish High Court is concerned about the national surveillance practices of the United States and the level of privacy rights observed there.
After years of failed negotiations, the European Union now appears close to reaching a trade agreement with the South American political and economic bloc, Mercosur. This was confirmed by the European Union Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström during a press conference last month. The announcement came a day after the European Union Vice-President, Jyrki Katainen, met in Buenos Aires with the Argentinian President, Mauricio Macri, to work on unspecified “difficult issues” still pending.
Today, Public Knowledge signs a joint statement with Access Now and ARTICLE 19 on privacy policy discussions taking place at the World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC) in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The WTDC, as part of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) at the United Nations, outlines the strategies and objectives for the global development of information and communications technologies.
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