Stop upload filter censorship – oppose the Copyright Directive
The European Parliament will vote on the Copyright Directive this week, on 26 March 2019. Over 100,000 Europeans went on the street to protest at the weekend.
Article 17 (formerly Article 13) is the most contentious part of the proposed Directive. It provides for automated filtering of almost all material uploaded to the Internet using unproven AI technology to try to detect copyright infringements. This is an utterly impractical proposal. Read this summary of what Article 17/13 actually does and why you should oppose it.
You can still help. Here’s what you have to do.
- Find out what European Parliament constituency you are in (the possibilities are Ireland Dublin, Ireland South or Ireland Midlands-North-West
- Understand what your MEPs’ position on Article 17 (formerly Article 13). If you are in Dublin, then refer this table. If you are in the Ireland South Constituency, then refer to this table. If you are in the Ireland Midlands-North-West Constituency, then refer to this table.
- Contact one or more of your MEPs by phone. Just ring the number for your MEP in the table above. Try ringing the Strasbourg number first – Parliament sittings alternate between Strasbourg and Brussels, but Strasbourg is where the action is this week. All you have to do is leave a message or speak to the person who answers the phone in the following terms: ‘Hello, my name is XXX. I’m a constituent of yours and I live in YYY. I’m ringing to ask that [MEP name] oppose Article 13 in the European Parliament tomorrow. I believe it is utterly impractical and a threat to freedom of expression.’
- Email one or more of your MEPs. The email contact details and suggested text is there. It is important to customise your response! Be sure to provide your home address. This is to confirm to the MEP that you are a constituent of theirs.
- Tweet or post on Facebook, to signal your support. Link to this page if possible.
