Google, YouTube Accused Of Disinformation, Scaremongering By European Authors

European creators are alleging a scaremongering campaign by YouTube, and more than 30 entities representing creators in France say Google and YouTube are leading a massive fake information campaign against the European copyright directive currently under discussion in order to protect their commercial interests.

On 12 September, amendments were adopted on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council  on copyright in the Digital Single Market. According to a European Parliament press release, the adopted amendments would result in technology giants paying for work of artists and journalists which they use.

A particular amendment to Article 13 states that “online content sharing service providers perform an act of communication to the public. They shall therefore conclude fair and appropriate licensing agreements with right holders.”

Yesterday, a group of over 30 organisations representing creators in France in a press release (in French) said “Europe must resist Google and YouTube blackmail.”

Google and YouTube have been leading a massive and unprecedented disinformation campaign against the European copyright directive, the co-signatories said.

The powerful means deployed by those companies to defend their sole interests are based on the manipulation of users, influential video makers, and young people, the release said. “It is unacceptable,” it said. “Google and YouTube once more are crossing a red line by abusing their dominant position.”

Should the directive not be adopted, it said, it would be an admission of Europe’s powerlessness and its subjugation to GAFA (acronym designating internet giants Google, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon,)

The European Authors’ Society said in a recent release that “YouTube’s campaign against Article 13 of the Copyright Directive shows a lack of respect for the EU democratic process of law making.”

“YouTube constantly refers menacingly to ‘unintended consequences’ if the Directive is adopted, and threatens to block content, instead of showing willingness to observe laws and fairly remunerate right holders,” the release said.

The directive will create a level playing field “where everyone is playing by the same rules and fairness for right holders who will be properly rewarded for their creative content,” it said.

According to an article published yesterday by The Register, YouTube’s most recent campaign against Article 13 “has induced young YouTubers, some with large followings, to believe the video site will disappear next year. A Wikipedia-style popup about the perceived consequences of Article 13 appears each time a user first lands on the homepage for the day.”

A YouTube blog article from 12 November entitled, “The Potential Unintended Consequences of Article 13,” claims that “EU residents are at risk of being cut off from videos that, in just the last month, they viewed more than 90bn times.”

Another YouTube blog article from 22 October states that “Article 13 as written threatens to shut down the ability of millions of people — from creators like you to everyday users — to upload content to platforms like YouTube. And it threatens to block users in the EU from viewing content that is already live on the channels of creators everywhere. This includes YouTube’s incredible video library of educational content, such as language classes, physics tutorials and other how-to’s.”

 

Image Credits: Flickr – Shawn Honnick