MTG Cardsmith Community Forums
What is Article 13/17?
Article 13 (17) is a European directive that dictates how online service providers (like MTG Cardsmith) must control use of copyrighted works on their platforms.
Platforms are directly liable: Article 17 [ex Art. 13]makes platforms directly liable for user uploaded content, which implies that platform will filter to the max only to make sure they are on the safe side.
Fundamental rights are impacted: Article 17 [ex Art. 13] will seriously affect our fundamental rights, especially our freedom of expression and right to information.
The real burden is on citizens: Individuals using online services will be caught in the middle of a fight between platforms and rightsholders. Legal content could be increasingly taken down ‘just in case’, because platforms have to licence all content that can be uploaded on their platform, but rightholders do not have any obligation to negotiate with platforms.
User safeguards will be non-existent in practice: When legal content is removed, companies will likely block content based on their terms of service and not based on Article 17 [ex Art. 13]. In effect, the complaints from individuals about wrongly removed content will not work.
On 15 April the EU Member States APPROVED the copyright Directive. What does that mean for MTG Cardsmith? Not good things unfortunately. At this time we are following other US platforms and watching what decisions are being made in each country and how it will affect online regulation on a per-country basis. So depending on the implementation legislation of each Member State - image upload rules could be subject to different criteria depending on where the card is viewed. If things reach this point, MTG Cardsmith will have no choice but to ban access to the site in those countries who go forward with strict regulation and demands on online platforms.
For now, we are awaiting further details, but this message serves as an early warning that access is in danger for the European members of our community. Any changes we make will be done with as much advance notice as we can legally offer.
What can be done for members living in the EU:
Get involved, using the links below to voice your protest and convince your local policymakers that implementation protects the rights of citizens online.
Helpful Links:
https://saveyourinternet.eu/
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/03/european-copyright-directive-what-it-and-why-has-it-drawn-more-controversy-any
Other platforms:
Platforms are directly liable: Article 17 [ex Art. 13]makes platforms directly liable for user uploaded content, which implies that platform will filter to the max only to make sure they are on the safe side.
Fundamental rights are impacted: Article 17 [ex Art. 13] will seriously affect our fundamental rights, especially our freedom of expression and right to information.
The real burden is on citizens: Individuals using online services will be caught in the middle of a fight between platforms and rightsholders. Legal content could be increasingly taken down ‘just in case’, because platforms have to licence all content that can be uploaded on their platform, but rightholders do not have any obligation to negotiate with platforms.
User safeguards will be non-existent in practice: When legal content is removed, companies will likely block content based on their terms of service and not based on Article 17 [ex Art. 13]. In effect, the complaints from individuals about wrongly removed content will not work.
On 15 April the EU Member States APPROVED the copyright Directive. What does that mean for MTG Cardsmith? Not good things unfortunately. At this time we are following other US platforms and watching what decisions are being made in each country and how it will affect online regulation on a per-country basis. So depending on the implementation legislation of each Member State - image upload rules could be subject to different criteria depending on where the card is viewed. If things reach this point, MTG Cardsmith will have no choice but to ban access to the site in those countries who go forward with strict regulation and demands on online platforms.
For now, we are awaiting further details, but this message serves as an early warning that access is in danger for the European members of our community. Any changes we make will be done with as much advance notice as we can legally offer.
What can be done for members living in the EU:
Get involved, using the links below to voice your protest and convince your local policymakers that implementation protects the rights of citizens online.
Helpful Links:
https://saveyourinternet.eu/
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/03/european-copyright-directive-what-it-and-why-has-it-drawn-more-controversy-any
Other platforms:
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
What countries are in the most danger of this for mtgcs users? Where does the USA stand?
In the US we abide by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”). This may lead to additional changes on the site, but will be far less sever than the what the EU is enacting.
Stay vigilant.