GAFA, conductors of a populist campaign against artists and creators in the European parliament

The MEPs have rejected the negotiating mandate of the Copyright Directive, despite the successful passing of the directive in the Legal Affairs Commission two weeks ago with a comfortable majority of 15 votes to 10.

The MEP’s decision is the product of a violent GAFA campaign that manipulated the opinion of a large number of MEPs, disregarding the work done by their colleagues in the Legal Affairs Committee.

Internet giants have deceived consumers, European citizens and the majority of the European Plenary assembly by misrepresenting a campaign based on real economic and remuneration issues as a threat to freedom of expression, a deceitful campaign designed to mask their true intention -  to preserve their advertising revenues.

We live in a world where there are rules to protect the weak in relation to the strong. The Internet is part of our lives and must be regulated. Without appropriate regulation, the will of the Internet giants will be imposed unsparingly on the artists.

This is just a postponement as MEPs will submit amendments to the text in September. Artists must remain mobilised so this text does not lose sight of its primary objective: to rebalance the contractual relationship between creators and online platforms, encouraging the sharing of works on the Internet while ensuring fair remuneration for creators.