The European Parliament’s position on the Digital Single Market Directive. What’s in there for libraries?

Before the summer break of 2018, the plenary of the European Parliament decided that the compromise brought forward by the legal affairs’ committee was not good enough. Its proposal for a new article on press publishers’ rights and on upload filters received a huge number of critics from civil society, arguing that they represented a threat to freedom of expression and a free internet. On the 12 September, at a decisive vote, Members of the European Parliament seemed to resonate with the argument that there is a need to legislate to ensure fair remuneration for “authors” on the internet and voted for articles 11 and 13. 

Ahead of this vote, libraries in Europe reached out to their representatives to express their concerns and underline their needs. In the avalanche of emails to MEPs from lobbying campaigns, the perspective of the library community seems to have made its way through to some extent. Several articles, namely on preservation, education and out of commerce works, were voted upon with positive results.

Although discussions are not over, the European Parliament’s position shapes the outcome of the copyright reform a little more. IFLA has therefore prepared an analysis of the impact of the Parliament’s position on libraries.

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