EU copyright reform: what will happen to Youtube and Facebook?
Internet platforms, such as YouTube and Facebook, which promote and package online video and other contents, face greater obligations with the proposed EU copyright reform.
The European Commission recently proposed several reforms to copyright law, which, if adopted, would require internet companies to run proactive software checks to determine if the content hosted on such internet websites contains copyright material. These reforms have been brought forward after a three-year review aimed at updating copyright law for the digital age. The purpose of these reforms is to prevent online piracy and compensate content providers, like music companies and news providers.
These reforms would mostly affect big internet companies, such as YouTube, Facebook, and others, which actively promote and package online video contents as well as the host user uploaded video contents. Currently, these companies have a tendency to delete video content containing copyright material on a case-by-case basis only after being notified by the copyright holder or other rights holders. With the reforms, the internet platforms would have to proactively check for copyright material.
If the proposed reforms are adopted, they will pose greater obligations and burdens on internet platforms and would make it easier for content owners to challenge such internet platforms in court. For now the proposals have been the subject of heavy lobbying from the copyright holders like record labels and newspaper publishers, which advocate the adoption of such reforms, and technology firms on the other hand.
