Yesterday, 20 June, the European parliament’s legal affairs committee approved plans to update EU copyright rules. The decision to start detailed negotiations will be announced on 2 July 2018.

 

This is a controversial set of rules, introducing, for example, provisions that require that all websites check posts against a database in order to remove those that are flagged as subject to copyright.

 

The provisions are designed to support, among others, the music industry and “will force platforms such as YouTube to seek licences for music videos” (The Guardian) but which academics argue "would likely impede the free flow of information" (The Independent).