This is the last article you can read this month
You can read more article this month
You can read more articles this month
Sorry your limit is up for this month
Reset on:
Please help support the Morning Star by subscribing here
TENS of thousands demonstrated in Germany on Saturday under the slogan “Save Your Internet” against EU copyright reform measures they warn are an attack on freedom of speech.
As many as 40,000 took to the streets of Munich in what organisers said was the biggest of the demonstrations.
They were protesting against EU laws that would see tech giants including Facebook and YouTube take responsibility for copyright materials users upload to their platforms.
Under the changes, YouTube and other platforms will be able remove illegal content using automatic filters.
The legislation will also make internet companies pay news organisations for reproducing or linking to their content.
Media organisations say that companies including Facebook and Google make billions from advertising linked to news stories while publishers suffer.
Protesters warned the changes can be easily used to restrict freedom of speech. They called on the European Parliament to reject the reform in a vote scheduled for tomorrow.
However, more than 260 journalists and photographers signed a letter calling for the reform to be passed.
In Poland, 200 film-makers called for MEPs to pass the measures, in order to regulate use of their intellectual property on video platforms such as YouTube.
