The dialogue group on the implementation of the Copyright Directive (2019/790) held an initial courteous discussion on the implementation of Article 17 concerning the value gap on Tuesday, 15 October (see EUROPE 12315/7). In particular, participants presented current practices and their already well-known position on the controversial issue of screening measures.
Article 17 of the Copyright Directive (2019/790) requires platforms to put filtering measures in place when they have not successfully obtained the copyright owner’s authorisation to distribute a work (see EUROPE 12222/6).
In her introductory speech, Commissioner Mariya Gabriel called for participants to “turn the page of heated tensions”. “I’m asking stakeholders to sit around the table in the common interest of determining what actions to take or what information to share”, she stated, emphasising that it is not a question of interpreting the directive, which is the Court of Justice’s prerogative.
Speaking for the Commission (DG CONNECT), Giuseppe Abbamonte explained that these meetings would continue during the autumn and next year. The main aim of the first meeting was to open the floor to representatives from the music, games, and software industries. The second meeting, to be held on 5 November, will focus more on audiovisual, sport, images, and information.
The organisation ‘Young Pirates of Europe’ and the collective ‘Savetheinternet.info’ are notably present in this discussion group alongside service providers and the consumer organisation BEUC.
Paris calls for a European status for digital platforms
On Wednesday, the Franco-German Council of Ministers will discuss Google’s recent announcement that it will limit the number of press releases rather than pay publishers, as expected by Article 15 of the Directive (see EUROPE 12335/12). This decision is currently being analysed by the French competition authority, just as the German authority had done in the past.
According to a source from the Elysée, France and Germany share the idea of making greater use of competition policy in order to respond to illegal situations. In February 2019, the two countries presented a joint industrial manifesto calling for European competition rules to be reviewed (see EUROPE 12192/16).
According to the same source, the meeting will also mention the idea championed by France of introducing a status for digital platforms at the European level that takes into account their systemic context, much as what exists for banking groups.
As a reminder, President-elect of the Commission Mrs von der Leyen announced that she intended to present an act for digital services that, according to rumours, could envisage specific obligations for platforms depending on their power of influence.
In response to a question from a Member of Parliament on the opportunity to dismember the giants of the digital sector, Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager indicated that, for her part, she wanted to favour the least intrusive means. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)