A couple of years ago, the European Commission declared intentions to modernize the EU copyright legislation. Today, YouTube Chief Executive Officer Susan Wojcicki composed an op-ed in the Financial Times in opposition to new online copyright guidelines which the European Parliament is attempting to implement.
Several of the proposals have been massively dubious. For instance, Article 13 would see the accountability for infringing content material switched from end users of websites like YouTube towards the platform itself.
In her post, Wojcicki claims that enforcement of Article 13 would jeopardize YouTube’s creators and she asks policymakers to take a look again at how best to safeguard copyright.
"While we support the goals of article 13, the European Parliament’s current proposal will create unintended consequences that will have a profound impact on the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people.”
As an example, she made mention of the hit ‘Despacito’, saying that the track consists of several copyrights which include sound recording and publishing rights. YouTube has a contract with a number of parties to give permission to the video recording but other right holders remain anonymous. This could provide a scenario so intricate that the company may need to cease hosting the video clips entirely.
It's obvious that YouTube, as well as the music sector, is yet to have a look at this dilemma. With the platform recommending that blocking could be the only choice, the tension is growing over the pros of Article 13.
Source: Financial Times (Paywall), YouTube Creator Blog
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