Who should control the hyperlink?

This is outrageous! European politicians have just launched a special process to push forward a broad new hyperlinking fee that will affect us all. Your OpenMedia team has a plan to push back, but for it to work we need you to add your voice here right now.

EU decision-makers and lobbyists are calling it a neighbouring right, a snippet tax, or ancillary copyright. But we know what it is: a tax on linking.

And YES, users all over the world will be impacted. Even if you don’t live in the EU, some of your favourite websites probably do.

This Link Tax could make content you’re looking for virtually disappear from search engines. Let’s stop this idea here.

We’ve seen this bad idea before, but as European Parliamentarian Julia Reda put it, this is a “broader and badder version” of the previous push for a Link Tax.¹

Anti-innovation politicians are also talking about a special YouTube tax² and still others are pushing the idea of auser fee or a search fee!³

These terrible ideas will restrict freedom of expression and access to information, but they still want to push ahead.

James: Will you speak up now so we can stop these bad ideas from becoming law?

What’s this all about?

European decision-makers are in the process of writing a new copyright law and lobbyists are pushing for something called “ancillary copyright”.

If the lobbyists succeed, copyright rules will be extended to links and the text that accompanies them — giving legacy publishers the right to charge fees for linking to content.

If this sounds familiar it’s because late last year people like you in the OpenMedia community overwhelmed EU decision-makers⁴ by flooding their public consultation on the Link Tax proposal.

The Internet community has said no,⁵ European Parliamentarians have said no,⁶ many publishers themselves have said no.⁷ Enough is enough already!

If we act now we have a chance to put a stop to this idea before it gets out of control: Sign our statement to say NO to the link tax.

Stand with us, and Save the Link.

Ruth, on behalf of your OpenMedia team

Footnotes

[1] The EU is listening – make your voice heard to prevent copyright from controlling public space and the way we share online. Source: Julia Reda 
[2] Commission considers ‘YouTube tax’ on streaming services. Source: Politico
[3] Fight over ‘Google tax’ brews ahead of autumn copyright proposal. Source: Euractiv
[4],[5] 10,000 Internet users demand to be heard. Your move, European Commission. Source: OpenMedia
[6] No to ancillary copyright for press publishers, say more than 80 Members of the European Parliament. Source:Julia Reda
[7] Ancillary copyright: group of press publishers write letter to the European Commission. Source: IFRRO