DIGITALEUROPE press release on the Plenary adoption of Copyright Directive

Following the trilogue negotiations with Council and Commission, the European Parliament adopted today the finalized draft of the Copyright in the Digital Single Market Directive. This marks the closure of a much-debated and often controversial proposal to review European copyright law.

“Creativity and culture are at the heart of European society and values. Technology has only strengthened this, giving new ways for creators to share their works and allow citizens to enjoy the benefits of digital innovation”, said Cecilia Bonefeld-Dahl, Director-General of DIGITALEUROPE.

“We strongly welcome the exemption for text and data mining, which will grant much-needed growth opportunities for Artificial Intelligence research and development in Europe. The same modern vision was not there for the rest of the Directive. The new obligations on certain online platforms form an intricate web of licenses and liability. This creates no certainty or clarity, but only complexity. We urge the legislators, when translating the Directive into national law, to safeguards citizens’ freedom of speech, to allow companies to do business online and to encourage creation by young and digital innovators.”

DIGITALEUROPE will follow closely the national implementation of the adopted Copyright in the Digital Single Market Directive. As evident from the calls from civil society, academia and citizens across Europe, many question marks remain on what the impact will be regarding the new provisions for online intermediary liability and press publications.

We encourage a constructive collaboration between all stakeholders, today and in the future, on how to modernize the European copyright framework to the digital era.