#WyclefJean calls on #EuropeanParliament to embrace #Internet, not destroy it

World famous artist Wyclef Jean is urging European politicians not to tear down the internet, and argues that musicians are “collectively better off financially and promotionally because of internet platforms”.

“The solution to the challenges of the Internet isn’t to tear it down, it’s to build on top of it. There are too many fingers being pointed and too few productive conversations.” said Wyclef Jean.

Wyclef argues that MEPs should reject arguments that platforms like Soundcloud, Vimeo and YouTube create a ‘value gap’ for creators, and see that musicians and internet service providers can “team up and make the music community better for everyone”.

Artists under the collective Create.Refresh join Wyclef Jean’s appeal to MEPs to embrace and improve the internet, rather than attempt to block and hinder it.

“The Copyright Directive will force online platforms to censor freedom of expression online under the guise of protecting artists. But Wyclef Jean’s experience, and that of thousands of other creators across Europe, shows that we have more to gain from working together with platforms, rather than standing in the way of progress,” said Julian Stark, a writer and film director who is part of the Create.Refresh campaign.

“We thank Wyclef Jean for standing up against this damaging legislation. Whether intended, or not, this law will prevent the uploading and sharing of content online and we ask MEPs to reject it now,”

This week’s vote on the copyright directive presents a threat to the open internet as we know it. Creators, artists and musicians risk having their ability to remix, remake and create heavily restricted by draconian laws designed to protect these very artists. Create.Refresh, and Wyclef Jean, are campaigning for laws that will help artists to make more money and help fans make and share more music.

The Directive on copyright in the Digital Single Market is currently under deliberation in the European Union and includes a proposal to force online platforms to scan user uploads and prevent the upload of anything potentially copyrighted restricting the uploads of remixes and parodies.

An opinion piece by Wyclef Jean was published in Politico arguing against the proposed reform of the copyright directive. The opinion piece is available here. 

Create.Refresh is a collective of European artists and organisations fighting for the freedom of expression of every creator, large and small. The campaign opposes laws that censor the diversity of ideas, supports the relationship between makers and their audience, and aims to start a conversation around copyright that is fair for all.

Article 13 of the copyright directive creates an obligation for Information Society Service Providers to monitor and filter anything that European citizens upload to content-sharing services. In practice, online platforms will have to implement effective content recognition technology to prevent the availability on their services of works or content identified by rightholders.

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