
6 days until the EU votes on an extinction-level event for the internet - zhamisen
https://boingboing.net/2018/09/06/six-days-left-2.html
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bootsz
> _" the link tax" (users are banned from linking to news stories unless the
> site they're linking to has sold a "linking license" to the platform the
> users are on_

What the actual f...? Is this real life or an Onion article? Does anyone have
any sense of how likely it is that this would actually pass? Do EU lawmakers
know what a hyperlink actually is?

To think, in my day the measure of success on the web was getting _more_
people to link to your content...

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srtjstjsj
The "link tax" appears to be a myth invented by the opposition to stoke the
emotions of readers like you.

The actual proposal is copyright over the content of articles, so that search
engines and blogs couldn't (without a license) post content snippets that
_circumvent_ the publisher's website and monetize their own sites in its
place. There are valid criticisms (chilling effects around needing a license
before repeating or summarizing content), but they aren't the ones boingboing
and friends are crowing about.

~~~
stickfigure
This isn't quite an accurate description either.

Publishers can already prevent search engines from posting snippets of their
websites; they can block search engines with robots.txt.

This is an attempt to "have your cake and eat it too" by forcing search
engines to display content in a specific format that publishers prefer. Right
now Google can say "if you want to be listed, you must allow us to show a
snippet"; this law tries to change that. It's dumb.

~~~
that_lurker
As for the google requiring a snippet, you can always change what it is or
disable it.
[https://support.google.com/gsa/answer/2672315?hl=en](https://support.google.com/gsa/answer/2672315?hl=en)

~~~
Fnoord
Opt-out instead of opt-in?

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raverbashing
This headline is one of the reasons I don't take boing boing seriously anymore

~~~
flukus
I could forgive the headline if TFA explained why it was so bad, but even
after following several internal links I have no idea. It's kind of impressive
how many words they can write without actually saying anything of note.

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maerF0x0
It's not an extinction level event because, like the humans which create it,
technology is extremely adaptable to changing circumstance. We'll probably see
TOR / mesh network like solutions to tyranny .

~~~
aleph-
So I'm genuinely curious, how would a Tor/Meshnet like solution helo in this
situation? Because I'm not seeing it.

~~~
maerF0x0
They're not under the control of the governments which want to enact the laws
spoken of

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jbb67
I don't get the hate for this. It mostly seems to be saying that if you
publish stuff on the internet it's your responsibility to take reasonable
steps to ensure that it's not stolen and that you actually have the right to
publish it.

This seems entirely reasonable to me.

~~~
raverbashing
Because there's no exception for parody and fair use.

Because there's no penalties for falsely taking down content (like Sony taking
down an amateur recording of Beethoven/Bach)

It targets content sharing networks, it's not simply about "what you publish
in your own website" and it makes the platforms liable, not who uploaded it.

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wemdyjreichert
Why does Europe dislike American tech companies? Seems like they are want to
file antitrust or try to regulate against American tech heavily.

