EU Copyright Vote: A Critical Juncture for the Open Internet

The draft EU copyright proposal, specifically Article 13, is currently undergoing legislative process in Brussels. This provision could hold Internet platforms legally responsible for copyright content uploaded by users and may require automated filtering solutions to remove infringing content at the point of user upload. However, this has led to concerns about excessive censorship and potential legal liability for content sharing providers. The European Parliament Plenary rejected the proposal in July, but it will undergo a full discussion and rescheduled vote on September 12th. This proposal threatens freedom of expression and information online, disrupts user experience, and could diminish diversity by burdening smaller businesses with new obligations. Cloudflare has been troubled by this proposal and encourages users to contact their MEPs to help #SaveYourInternet.