Critics about restriction of freedom: European Parliament approves overhaul of online copyright rules

MEPs approved online copyright rules in the EU, which, according to the critics, will lead to restrictions of freedoms on the Internet.

EU lawmakers voted on Tuesday to approve the controversial overhaul with 348 votes in favor and 274 against, another 36 abstained, Deutsche Welle writes.

Now the new rules must be approved by the EU countries themselves.

The critics are concerned about articles 11 and 13. The first obliges aggregators or social networks to pay the media for the reuse of their materials, and the second provides for tightening copyright obligations for commercial platforms such as Youtube, Instagram and GitHub.

The European Commission proposed to introduce new rules back in 2016. Brussels called for adaptation of the copyright law to the new digital reality, as well as the need for fair remuneration of the authors and rights holders.

Note that on March 21, the German Wikipedia announced a one-day strike and blocked access to its content.

As The Journalist reported, adopted amendments to the gas directive of the European Union could trigger Russian aggression.