Brussels – In letters to First Vice-President Frans Timmermans and Members of the European Parliament, a wide coalition of stakeholders representing civil society, news publishers, consumers and the digital industry share their concerns regarding the European Commission’s approach in consulting on copyright matters.
The European Commission is expected to adopt a Communication on copyright on 9 December detailing the Commission’s vision for copyright reform in the next years. The Communication will cover various issues the Commission is currently consulting on in its “Online Platforms” consultation. Since the Communication is planned to be adopted before the 30 December deadline of the Online Platforms consultation, stakeholders’ answers will not be taken into account. This raises concerns regarding the principles of transparency and better regulation. In addition, some critical questions are only addressed to rights owners depriving other stakeholders to voice their point of view.
The following can be attributed to CCIA Europe Director, Jakob Kucharczyk:
“The letters, signed by more than 20 individual stakeholders representing a great diversity of communities, reveal that there is widespread concern regarding future EU copyright reform. Signatories to the letters rightly point out that the Commission is expected to present a Communication on copyright at the same time as it continues to consult on important copyright-related matters. In practice, stakeholders’ answers to the consultation on platforms will not be taken into consideration as the Commission sets out its vision for copyright rules for the years to come.”
“We regret that some critical questions in the platform consultation are only addressed to rights owners. Particularly questions that relate to controversial new rights for press publishers should have been framed in a neutral and open manner. Only that would have allowed the Commission to undertake a more comprehensive analysis in tune with the principles of transparency and better regulation.”
Contact: Heather Greenfield +1 202 783 0070 ext 113
Jakob Kucharczyk [email protected]
+32 492 887 943