Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Catch up on the day's biggest business stories
Subscribe to Axios Closer for insights into the day’s business news and trends and why they matter
Stay on top of the latest market trends
Subscribe to Axios Markets for the latest market trends and economic insights. Sign up for free.
Sports news worthy of your time
Binge on the stats and stories that drive the sports world with Axios Sports. Sign up for free.
Tech news worthy of your time
Get our smart take on technology from the Valley and D.C. with Axios Login. Sign up for free.
Get the inside stories
Get an insider's guide to the new White House with Axios Sneak Peek. Sign up for free.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Want a daily digest of the top Denver news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Want a daily digest of the top Des Moines news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Want a daily digest of the top Twin Cities news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Want a daily digest of the top Tampa Bay news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Want a daily digest of the top Charlotte news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
Photo: Jens Kalaene/picture alliance via Getty Images
The European Union's parliament signed off on a controversial copyright law on Tuesday.
Why it matters: The rules have been criticized by major web companies as well as activists. They say that it will undermine basic principles of the internet that have allowed content to flow freely across the web.
Article 11 of the law, the so-called "link tax," would require sites like Facebook and Google to pay a fee when they summarize news stories and link to them.
- Supporters believe this will stop Big Tech from unfairly profiting from the work of news organizations who have been hit hard by loss of revenue to digital platforms.
- Opponents believe this may ultimately cause smaller sites, blogs and even the same news outlets the law is meant to protect to have to pay for the right to use links.
Article 13 of the law requires sites that distribute user-uploaded content — like YouTube or Facebook — to ensure that content doesn't violate copyright.
- The problem, say critics, is that to accomplish this on a large scale, sites like YouTube would have to rely on automated scanning algorithms, which would inevitably cause more legitimate content to be swept up in the dragnet.
What they're saying: Critics were dismayed. The Electronic Frontier Foundation said that the bloc had "abandoned common-sense and the advice of academics, technologists, and UN human rights experts."
The bigger picture: European lawmakers and regulators have taken the most aggressive action to rein in the giants of Silicon Valley.
- EU competition commission Margrethe Vestager has pursued antitrust cases against Google and a major tax case against Apple.
What's next? The EU's member states need to sign off on the parliament's decision. Once they do that, they will have two years to add them to their own legal codes.