European Union: The controversial reform that changes the rules on the Internet

Its member states EU adopted today a controversial package of copyright reform which aims to adapt to the digital age the European copyright legislation, dating back to 2001, in order to ensure that artists and news publishers are paid fairly.

Τa these measures, which have already been approved by the European Parliament, supported by 19 Member States. THE The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Poland, Italy, Finland and Sweden were opposed, while the Belgium, Slovenia and Estonia they abstained.

Today's vote was the last step before the measures are expected to take two years.

In a statement by the European Council, the Romanian Minister Valer Daniel Breaz, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, welcomed thea balanced text, which creates many opportunities for European creative sectors to thrive and better reflect our cultural diversity and other common European values, but also for users whose freedom of expression on the Internet will be enhanced.».

The reform was approved despite many critics arguing that it would hurt the free exchange of information on the internet. Internet giants like Google and YouTube, have also expressed their opposition.

To date, tens of thousands of people across Europe have protested against the reform. Particularly controversial is the so-called article 13, which requires social networking sites to ensure that when they post something that the content does not violate copyright rules.

Opponents of the reform fear it will lead to "post filters," an automated software that they say could detect and block legitimate content.

The measures also require platforms such as Google News pay publishers for short texts appearing in search results.

Some critics have warned that the term would hurt the small publishers' negotiating position on Google. They also cite a German law in 2013 that provides for a similar mechanism, which has failed to bring publishers substantial income.

Source