Despite some positive changes (a mandatory exception for text and data mining, the facilitation of making the works from collections of cultural heritage institutions available to the public online, ensuring that reproductions of visual artwork in the public domain is not subject to copyright, the right of authors to an appropriate and proportionate remuneration), the overall assessment of the Directive remains negative, especially because of the following reasons:

– Articles 3 and 3a: text and data mining is enabled to other subjects (that are not research organizations mining in scientific research purposes) only under the condition that rightsholders do not object it,
– Article 4: the exception for education can easily be switched-off, if member states implement the licensing possibility and not the mandatory exception,
– Article 11: the new right of press publishers decreases competition and innovation in the delivery of news, and limits access to information,
Article 13: making online platforms liable for uploads of infringing content will result in the introduction of upload filters, which has a negative impact on users’ right of expression.

Because of these reasons, the Directive has to be rejected. Especially, we must say a loud NO to Article 13! So far 100 members of the European Parliament have pledged to vote against this law. Visit pledge2019 and ask your representatives to take the pledge to take down the Directive that would drastically change the Internet as we know it today (to worse)!