What do you see?
This could be the beginning of a reform of copyright which finally takes into account the needs of people in the 21st century.
–Marcin Maj, Dziennik Interautów
The losers [of the report’s proposals] are European individuals […]: they lose protection over their own words and images, becoming second class global […]
more ›This is the core finding of my draft report for the European Parliament evaluating 2001’s copyright directive:
Although the directive was meant to adapt copyright to the digital age, in reality it is blocking the exchange of knowledge and culture across borders today.
Europe would benefit from a copyright that promotes creativity not just […]
more ›When a politican talks about security, they’re usually coming for your civil rights.
When a politican talks about security technology, they’re usually coming for your civil rights. Suspicionless mass surveillance, secret internet blocklists, arduous security theatre at airports: Safety and freedom are presented as trade-offs — and many politicians are all too willing to sacrifice more and […]
more ›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 […]
more ›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 This page is out of date!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 ›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 ›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 ›
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 ›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 ›
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 – […]
more ›