The government of Poland has filed a complaint with the European Court of Justice, arguing that the recently passed Copyright Directive amounts of a form of censorship, "forbidden not only in the Polish constitution but also in the EU treaties."
The Directive included a rule that will cause virtually all online expression to be submitted to unaccountable, black-box copyright filters, which will block anything that appears similar to works that someone has made an unsubstantiated copyright claim over. The rule does not contemplate any penalties for false claims of copyright, whether through error or deliberate intent to defraud or censor.
Poland was one of the notable opponents of the Directive, despite the national newspapers running blank front pages the day before the key vote, with op-eds threatening retaliation against Polish politicians who crossed them.
The vote carried by five votes; later, ten MEPs admitted that they'd been confused and pressed the wrong button.
There's scant details about the Polish complaint, apart from interviews in the Polish press, and a snappy infographic tweeted by the Chancellery of the Prime Minister of Poland.
Poland files complaint with EU's top court over copyright rule change [Agnieszka Barteczko/Reuters]
(via The Verge)
