EU okays tougher copyright rules in blow to Google, FB

BRUSSELS: Google will have to pay publishers for news snippets and Facebook filter out protected content under new copyright rules aimed at ensuring fair compensation for the European Union’s $1 trillion creative industries. EU governments on Monday backed the move launched by the European Commission two years ago to protect Europe’s creative industries, which employ 11.7 million people in the bloc.
“When it comes to completing Europe’s digital single market, the copyright reform is the missing piece of the puzzle,” the Commission’s president Jean-Claude Juncker said in a statement. Under the new rules, Google and other online platforms will have to sign licensing agreements with musicians, performers, authors, and journalists to use their work.
The European Parliament gave a green light last month to a proposal that has pitted Europe’s creative industry against tech firms, internet activists and consumer groups.While the change was opposed by Finland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden, 19 countries, including France and Germany, endorsed the revamp. Belgium, Estonia and Slovenia abstained.
Under the new regime, sharing platforms will have to install filters to prevent users from uploading copyrighted materials. Google said the new rules would hurt Europe’s creative & digital economies.
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