Last spring, a coalition of young European political activists adopted this motion opposing the upload filters and link taxes in the new Copyright Directive, which the EU Parliament is about to vote on.
With only days to go before that vote — it'll probably happen on Tuesday the 26th at 12:30 PM, after a debate that starts at 9AM CET, following a day of mass, EU-wide street demonstrations — — the youth coalition have reminded their adult colleagues in the Socialist, Conservative, Green and Liberal Blocs that "A free and open internet is crucial for who we are and will define the generations coming after us."
Furthermore, the protection of creators has not been substantially strengthened and even worsened in some regards. "Fair remuneration" has been watered down to include unfair payment schemes between publishers and collecting societies on the one hand and authors on the other.
As a result, thousands of young people have turned up at protests in Germany and beyond, demanding that policy-makers protect our internet. A record-breaking petition has been signed by over 5 million Europeans. An international mobilisation is planned around Europe for Saturday 23 March.
The European Parliament will vote on the directive during its plenary on 25-28 March. This text can still be amended and MEPs from different groups have already declared that they will try to do so, with a particular focus on removing the provisions that are paving the way for upload filters and a link tax.
We demand that policy-makers take the concerns of young people around Europe seriously and remove the provisions establishing upload filters and a link tax from the draft copyright directive. We call upon all young people in Europe to join demonstrations against censorship and an online surveillance infrastructure on Saturday 23 March (see map here).
The consequences of decisions made today will affect young people the most. A few months before the European elections, it is time to show younger generations that a free and open internet is at the heart of the European project.
