Thread by @EFF

Everyone needs to know just how wildly dangerous the European Union’s vote this week could be for the global Internet, and the undecided members of the European Parliament must consider the massive worldwide ramifications of their votes. (1/24)

First, some EU lawmakers want to create a #LinkTax (#Article11)—a ham-fisted proposal that would punish those who use the Internet as an open platform for sharing. /2 publicknowledge.org/news-blog/blog…

Second, they also want to force sites to filter nearly all of their users' submissions against a database of copyrighted works. #Article13 would create a #CensorshipMachine so big it threatens to wreck the Internet itself. /3 motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/…

The vote is close. Undecided members of the European Parliament’s JURI committee are deciding now on #Article11 and #Article13: Will they vote on Wednesday to break the Net? Or reject both articles, and stand up for free expression, creativity, and privacy? /4

Open science advocates and major organisations from the library, research, education, and digital rights community have warned that Article 11 “poses a significant threat to an informed and literate society.” /5 creativecommons.org/2017/09/07/eur…

@mady_delvaux, will you vote to protect open access and open science, and reject #Article11’s ancillary right? /6

The EU Commission insists #Article11 isn’t a #LinkTax. But what else would you call it when a publisher controls even the use of small snippets of news text surrounding a hyperlink to the original article? /7

Small publishers have said that #Article11 will have a negative impact on authors and journalists, consumers and citizens, as well as small news publishers. /8
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@1PavelSvoboda, will you vote to protect the fundamental nature of the European (and global) Internet by voting against #Article11? Let everyone continue linking to and discussing the news online! /9

The practical effect of #Article11 would be to make it impossible for a news publisher to publish their stories for free use, for example by using a @creativecommons license—and to prevent the online reuse of news content. /10 eff.org/deeplinks/2018…

@Jbergeronmep, when a similar proposal was passed in Spain, it resulted in the closure of online news portals, and a reduction in traffic to news publishers. Will you vote to stop a new link tax that’s both unnecessary and harmful? /11 nera.com/publications/a…

If it’s even possible, #Article13 would have an even greater impact on the global Internet. Over 70 Internet and computing luminaries have told the EU: "For the sake of the Internet’s future, we urge you to vote for the deletion of this proposal." /12 gizmodo.com/the-founding-f…

@Emil_Radev last week we sent you a letter containing that important message from these leaders of the Internet, warning about #Article13. Will you heed their advice and vote against #Article13? /13

The inventor of the World Wide Web, the co-founder of Wikipedia, and the founder of the Internet Archive agree: "Article 13 takes an unprecedented step towards the transformation of the Internet...into a tool for the automated surveillance and control of its users." /14

@MCBoutonnetFN, will you vote to protect the speech of French internet users from corporate surveillance and censorship, by voting against #Article13 ? /15

The UN's senior expert on free expression, @davidakaye, warns the EU that the copyright censorship provisions of #Article13 violate international law. /16 techdirt.com/articles/20180…

@rohde_jens, will you vote against a potential violation of international law—a censorship provision that endangers free expression, according to the UN’s expert? #Article13 /17

@EDRI agreed that upload filters like these endanger freedom of expression. @Franciszd, will you vote to protect freedom of expression? /18 edri.org/upload-filters…

#Article13 is fundamentally incompatible with projects that present & preserve records of noteworthy controversies—from Wikipedia to the Internet Archive—who agree that #Article13’s #CensorshipMachine would impair free knowledge on the Internet. /19 eff.org/deeplinks/2018…

@KaufmannSylvia, will you vote to protect knowledge and innovation, by voting against #Article13? /20 blog.wikimedia.org/2017/06/06/eur…

Reddit and other online platforms have come out against #Article13, warning that it will likely lead to “the effective shutdown of user-generated content platforms in Europe.” /21 reddit.com/r/announcement…

@SHKMEP, will you vote to protect the free and open Internet, and vote against #Article13 and #Article11? /22

Other Articles in this proposal help promote competition and innovation online. But #Article11 and #Article13 are poorly drafted, unworkable—and dangerous. The collateral damage they will impose on every realm of public life can't be overstated. /23

MEPs—as you consider proposals that could break the Internet for the entire globe—how do you plan to vote on #Article11 and #Article13? @SHKMEP @Jbergeronmep @MCBoutonnetFN @Emil_Radev @Franciszd @mady_delvaux @KaufmannSylvia @rohde_jens /24