The newest leak on the TISA trade agreement once again confirms the danger that free trade agreements pose to our democracy. Like ACTA, CETA and TTIP before it, TISA demonstrates that these intransparently negotiated treaties are driven by the interests of multinational corporations and risk undermining the efforts of the European Parliament to ensure consumer […]
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My upcoming report on EU copyright
Update: The draft report has now been published. This page is out of date!
The European Parliament’s first contribution to the upcoming copyright reform is going to be a report on the implementation of the previous directive on this matter from 2001 (the so-called “Infosoc Directive”).
The Parliament has appointed me rapporteur of the report. This […]
more ›MEPs establish Intergroup on the Digital Agenda for Europe
More than 70 MEPs today established an interparliamentary group that will work on the Digital Agenda for Europe. Amongst the founders of the Intergroup are Michał Boni (EPP), Josef Weidenholzer (S&D), Marietje Schaake (ALDE) and Julia Reda (Greens/EFA). They all emphasize the need for an integrated approach toward furthering the digital market and discussing […]
more ›European Copyright Lawyer Investment Plan Already a Success Story
This is from the Department of Who-could-have-seen-this-coming:
As a reaction to a change in Spanish copyright law (Article 32.2) effectively requiring payment for the right to link to newspapers, for example as part of a news aggregator, Google has announced today it is going to shut down “Google News” in Spain and will remove links to […]
more ›“Breaking up Google” – or just bankrolling publishers at Google’s expense?
Today the European Parliament passed a resolution introduced by the two large groups, EPP and S&D, on “consumer rights in the digital single market”. This resolution had caused quite a stir in the international press since last weekend – before it was even formally submitted to the Parliament. Multiple news outlets created the impression that […]
more ›An EU-wide ‘Google tax’ in the making?
In today’s issue of German newspaper Handelsblatt, Digital Commissioner Günther Oettinger has announced that he wants Google to pay for using copyrighted material in the EU:
When Google takes intellectual works from within the EU and works with them, then the EU can protect those works and demand a levy from Google.
The possible unintended consequences of such an attempt […]
more ›My vote against the new Commission
On July 15, I approved Jean-Claude Juncker’s mandate to form a Commission. Today I’m voting against his Commission in plenary – because it has already failed to live up to the expectations and announcements.
Few glimpses of hope on Internet policy
In his priorities paper Jean-Claude Juncker announced that copyright reform would be initiated within […]
more ›#AskAnsip – first ever online hearing of a new Commissioner
The last weeks here in the parliament have been quite focused on the hearing of the Commissioner Candidates for the Juncker Commission. I have been focusing on the two candidates who will be the primary commissioners for all matters tied to the Internet; Andrus Ansip, from Estonia, and Günther Oettinger, from Germany. I had some […]
more ›European premiere: Digital Commissioners to stand in online hearing
Andrus Ansip, the designated EU Commission Vice President for the Digital Single Market, today announced his willingness to participate in an open online hearing. Prompted by MEP Julia Reda, he stated at his hearing in front of the European Parliament: »We have to learn from the ACTA case. We have to act in a […]
more ›Europe’s next chief internet policymaker has a message for celebrity hacking victims: You’re dumb.
We should say: We can mitigate or even eliminate some risks. But like with any technology, you can’t exclude all risks. I’ll give an example. This may be a little, um… semi-serious. The fact that recently there have been an increasing number of public lamentations about nude photos of celebrities who took selfies – […]
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