Internet Insider: EU Commission's Link Tax plan even worse than feared
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- Published on Friday, 02 September 2016 08:45
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INTERNET INSIDER
September 2, 2016
... In recent weeks, the European Union has moved centre-stage in the global battle for digital rights. Two explosive leaks (here and here) have laid bare the European Commission’s plan to create a costly new tax on links, and the short snippets of text that accompany them.
Just days ago, the Commission’s draft copyright directive leaked, and it’s far worse than we feared. Commissioners are now proposing a sweeping link tax that experts warn will impact “everybody who communicates online.”
As our own Ruth Coustick-Deal highlighted, this is a terrible idea that will dramatically restrict our freedom of expression (even sharing 20-year-old news articles will be subject to the Link Tax under the Commission’s plan).
Next up we (and our many allies in the Save the Link network) are taking this fight to the European Parliament, which will be considering the plan soon. We saw this week that grassroots pressure can make a huge difference in Europe, as a 500,000-strong campaign we were part of won strong EU Net Neutrality rules — so, if you’ve yet to do so, add your voice at SaveTheLink.org, and stay informed by joining us on Facebook and Twitter.
Access September 1: Activist pressure nets better Net Neutrality rules in Europe
August 30: Europe’s new Net Neutrality guidelines a big win for the open Internet
August 30: Bell promises to run fibre to Churchill, Manitoba — for the small price of acquiring MTS
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