MEPs voted on Tuesday 18 May on a motion for a resolution containing recommendations to the European Commission on challenges faced by sports event organisers in the digital environment. The results of the votes will be known this Wednesday.
The text focuses on the fight against online piracy of live sports events. According to the rapporteur, Angel Dzhambazki (ECR, Bulgaria), this aspect is “the main challenge for the organisers of these events” and requires “the development of a legislative response at EU level”.
“For variety’s sake, and this is a scoop, we are not going to quarrel tonight. Perhaps it is because the topic of the report is important?”, he began in a brief presentation of the resolution.
“Piracy includes risks of data theft, and its forms are many. The focus should be on the people who enable websites to commit fraud, often funded by advertisements. It is also important to differentiate between fans who post photos and journalists who post content ”, he added.
Pointing to notification mechanisms, which are considered to take too much time before content is blocked, the rapporteur insisted on the need for safeguards in the management of online content.
For his part, the European Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs, Nicolas Schmit, assured the “full commitment” of the Commission on the subject and the upcoming presentation of specific follow-up actions. “We also need to better identify existing remedies”, he said, recalling the urgency of a political agreement on the Digital Service Act (see EUROPE 12717/17) which, “while not the only instrument”, “could serve as a basis for more specific proposals”.
Sport-related sectors account for 2.12% of EU GDP and 2.72% of EU employment. (Original version in French by Thomas Mangin)