Internet The German version of Wikipedia today stands on black. The online encyclopedia, demonstrates against new European rules for copyright law, where the European parliament next week about voting. There is only a statement to read on the site.
“This planned reform may be the free internet substantially limit”, according to the message on the German Wikipedia. “This is our last chance.”
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According to Wikipedia, Germany claims the rules on the free internet, and a threat to the reform “the freedom of science as Wikipedia, an oasis in the filtered desert of the internet”. So must all online platforms preemptively prevent copyright violations. That is, according to Wikipedia, however, this rule does not suffer, only filters that are prone to errors and abuse. Further sites have licenses for the use of short pieces of text from news media and there are stricter rules for the use of photos.
Last year were also all sites of Wikipedia in various countries inaccessible in protest against the new rules. The Dutch version of Wikipedia, today is also simply accessible. The blockade only applies to the German website: the official apps for smartphones and tablets to consult.
The German Wikipedia has around 2.3 million articles and 30 million times every day consulted. Worldwide is Wikipedia, according to its own data, the fifth most popular site.
Criticism
Negotiators for the European parliament and the member states came in the middle of February an agreement on the reform of the European copyright law. The reform must be almost twenty years old copyrightregels to adapt to the digital age. The new European directive makes it compulsory for platforms like YouTube, Facebook and other to find out in advance whether their users no copyrighted material online. In addition, the big internet platforms to pay a fee for items where a copyright is. Also nieuwsaggregatoren’ – think of Google News have to pay if they news take over.
But the text gets a lot of criticism. According to opponents casts Europe, a dam against the free speech and it is in fact a form of censorship. The powerful lobbies of Silicon Valley have their resistance has not been specified, and continue advocating for an adjustment.