VOA慢速英语2019--欧洲新法律将改变互联网

New European Law Will Change the Internet

On Monday, the European Council of the European Union, or EU, approved new copyright rules. They aim to give more protection to artists and news organizations. Critics say the new rules will limit freedom of speech and online creativity and punish smaller web companies.

Famous artists, performers and tech experts have spoken out both against and in support of the EU directive. The 28 EU members are required to establish the law in their countries. The law will have an influence on everyone, however, as the internet crosses many international borders.

Permission required

There has been much debate on one part of the directive that affects internet platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. The directive asks online platforms to require their users to get permission to upload any material from the creator of such materials. It says the platforms will be responsible for making sure that their users obey the law. Some think that meeting these rules will reduce freedom of expression on the internet and could result in censorship.

Another part of the law requires search engines (like Yahoo! or Google News) and social media sites to pay for linking to or showing a few sentences from news articles. Paying for each of those links will increase costs for the companies.

Effect on internet platforms

Some sites would be forced to get a written agreement to use music or videos. If not, sites would have to make sure they do not include unlawful copyrighted material. Computers will have to look for such material and remove it, since it would be impossible for humans to check the large number of uploads to the internet.

That could give large tech companies a major advantage over smaller companies. Google said last year it spent more than $100 million on a system for approving material on YouTube. More than 400 hours of content is uploaded every minute.

Will it change internet culture?

Critics say the EU directive could act as censorship and change internet culture. That is because the automatic filters may delete some material that should be permitted online. YouTube said that to avoid trouble in some cases, it would have to block videos if they are unsure about the copyright.

Some users worry that the new rules would stop creation of parodies¹ and viral internet “memes” so popular in online culture. Such content is often based on or connected to existing songs or movies or other content. The EU directive permits this kind of use as an exception to its rules.

Julia Reda is a lawmaker with the Pirate Party, which campaigns for freedom of information online. “The new law makes everyone a loser … Artistic² diversity has made the Internet colorful, but unfortunately the copyright directive will make the Internet duller,” she says.

Will it help writers and artists?

Some artists think the directive will help them. The music industry and other groups that collect fees say the change will help. It will require big tech companies such as Apple, Facebook and Google to pay artists, writers and creators more for their work. Google estimates it has paid out more than $3 billion to rights holders³ through its Content ID system, which was created in 2007.

Some high-profile artists have supported the change. Former Beatles member Paul McCartney wrote an open letter to EU lawmakers asking them to approve the new rules.

Others are afraid they will not earn much more money and that their creativity will be silenced.

But many worry it will change the internet as we know it. More than 5.2 million people signed an online appeal to stop the new rules. Internet stars such as Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, and Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales are against it. So is Wyclef Jean, the former leader of the music group the Fugees. He has said he is better off financially because fans can freely share his music on internet platforms.

German government spokesman Steffen Seibert says Germany wants to avoid upload filters and hopes “that user rights — freedom of opinion, about which there has been a lot of discussion here — be preserved.”

Last month, tens of thousands of people marched in cities across Germany to protest the directive. Poland’s leader has said his country will not enforce it, arguing it threatens freedom of speech.

Next steps

The EU’s member countries have two years to follow the directive by changing their own national laws. Six countries — Italy, Sweden, Poland, Finland, the Netherlands and Luxembourg — voted against it, so enforcement is likely to be uneven⁴. There will probably be many arguments in court before the laws have all been changed.

I’m Jill Robbins.

Words in This Story

copyright – n. the legal right to be the only one to reproduce, publish, and sell a book, musical recording⁵, or film for a certain period of time

censorship - n. the practice of removing things that are considered to be offensive, immoral⁶, or harmful to society from books, movies, letters, and such

advantage - n. something (such as a good position or condition) that helps to make someone or something better or more likely to succeed than others

parody⁷ - n. a piece of writing, music, etc., that imitates the style of someone or something else in an amusing way

meme - n. an amusing or interesting picture, video or the like that is spread widely through the Internet

diversity - n. the quality or state of having many different forms, types, ideas, etc.

dull - adj. not exciting or interesting

filter - n. software that prevents someone from looking at or receiving particular kinds of material through the Internet

preserve - v. to keep (something) safe from harm or loss

1 parodies   

n.拙劣的模仿( parody的名词复数 )；恶搞；滑稽的模仿诗文；表面上模仿得笨拙但充满了机智用来嘲弄别人作品的作品v.滑稽地模仿，拙劣地模仿( parody的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Later, however, they delight in parodies of nursery rhymes. 可要不了多久，他们便乐于对它进行窜改。 来自英汉非文学 - 民俗
• Most parodies are little more than literary teases. 大多数讽刺的模仿诗文只能算上是文学上的揶揄。 来自辞典例句

2 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

3 holders   

支持物( holder的名词复数 )； 持有者； （支票等）持有人； 支托（或握持）…之物

参考例句：

• Slaves were mercilessly ground down by slave holders. 奴隶受奴隶主的残酷压迫。
• It is recognition of compassion's part that leads the up-holders of capital punishment to accuse the abolitionists of sentimentality in being more sorry for the murderer than for his victim. 正是对怜悯的作用有了认识，才使得死刑的提倡者指控主张废除死刑的人感情用事，同情谋杀犯胜过同情受害者。

4 uneven   

adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的

参考例句：

• The sidewalk is very uneven—be careful where you walk.这人行道凹凸不平—走路时请小心。
• The country was noted for its uneven distribution of land resources.这个国家以土地资源分布不均匀出名。

5 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

6 immoral   

adj.不道德的，淫荡的，荒淫的，有伤风化的

参考例句：

• She was questioned about his immoral conduct toward her.她被询问过有关他对她的不道德行为的情况。
• It is my belief that nuclear weapons are immoral.我相信使核武器是不邪恶的。

7 parody   

n.打油诗文，诙谐的改编诗文，拙劣的模仿；v.拙劣模仿，作模仿诗文

参考例句：

• The parody was just a form of teasing.那个拙劣的模仿只是一种揶揄。
• North Korea looks like a grotesque parody of Mao's centrally controlled China,precisely the sort of system that Beijing has left behind.朝鲜看上去像是毛时代中央集权的中国的怪诞模仿，其体制恰恰是北京方面已经抛弃的。