Google had previously showed how dramatically its search results could be affected, and warned that it may shut down the service in Europe …
The EU Copyright Directive is well-intentioned, requiring tech giants to license the right to reproduce copyrighted material on their own websites. However, the legislation as originally proposed would have made it impossible for Google to display brief snippets and photos from news stories in its search results without paying the news sites.
The same thing happened in Germany, when publishers pressured Google into removing excerpts from links – until they saw the impact on traffic. At that point, most of them changed their minds.
Reuters reports that the EU has now finalized the text of the new rules.
That text does appear to require licensing agreements with news publishers. Google has said it’s now considering its options.
“Agreement reached on #copyright! Europeans will finally have modern copyright rules fit for digital age with real benefits for everyone: guaranteed rights for users, fair remuneration for creators, clarity of rules for platforms,” EU digital chief Andrus Ansip said in a tweet.
YouTube also impacted
The text also requires video hosting sites like YouTube to block uploads of copyrighted material, rather than its present practice of notifying copyright owners and offering them the choice of removal or monetization.
One potential flaw in the law is that it may block legal parody videos.
YouTube had earlier warned that it might simply block certain videos in EU countries.
The legislation does need to be approved by the European Parliament before it becomes law, but Reuters reports that this is ‘expected to be a formality.’
Photo: Shutterstock
Check out 9to5Google on YouTube for more news:
