https://www.change.org/p/stop-censorship-in-europe
Article 13 is a bullshit law that is going to SEVERELY affect thousands of jobs, ESPECIALLY our favourite EU-based youtubers. Please spread the word, sign the petitions, speak out, and do what you have to do. This is censorship of the things we love and I won’t stand for it.
Here’s a clearer more comprehensive list of tools and sources we can use to fight against Article 13. Please remember that the fight is far from over. YOU have a voice and it’s time to use our voices together to make our objections heard. Let’s do this for our freedom of speech, and the future of the internet.
- Petitions -
- (For EU, UK and US citizens + other countries) This is the official petition against Article 13 made by Save The Internet. The goal of the petition is to have as many supporters as it can and right now it is almost reaching 4.5 Million signatures around the world! Please click here to go to the page.
- (For UK citizens only) And this is an official petition created by the UK parliament and government, who will respond to the petition when it reaches 10,000 signatures. At 100,000 signatures, they will consider the petition for debate in parliament. If you’re a UK citizen, please click here to sign and don’t forget to spread the word to your friends and family!
- Contacting your MEP -
- (For EU citizens only) The best way to fight against Article 13 is to call or send an e-mail to your MEP and urge them to fight with you! This might sounds scary, but don’t worry. I tried to find as many helpful sources as I can!
Save The Internet have a website where you can find a lot of information about Article 13, and they also have a page where you can find out who your MEP is and how to contact them. If you want to know who your MEP is, click here!
- So now you know who your MEP is and how to contact them. Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of sources on phone calls, but if you prefer to send an e-mail and have no idea what to say, I found a useful website where they provide a good template and a “contact your MEP” tool”. Click here for the template!
IMPORTANT! The e-mail you’ll write should be in a polite tone and in YOUR OWN WORDS! If they send multiple e-mails with the same wording and format, they might just regard it as spam, so it is important that you must express your concerns for Article 13 in your own way!
If you don’t like this template, there are plenty more you can find on Google!
- (For EU, UK and US citizens + other countries) If you want other sources, some petitions let you sign a pre-made letter that they will send on your behalf. Such as this one by Liberties.eu.
https://www.liberties.eu/en/campaigns/copyright-online-censorship-europe-campaign/293
- More Information -
- For more information about Article 13, you can click these links here:
https://saveyourinternet.eu/
https://www.savetheinternet.info/
Please remember, Article 13 will ensure that they will filter all of our work, all of our art and expression and creativity in the name of “copyright” when really this is just a big ploy to make big businesses richer while they strip away our freedom of speech. If Article 13 goes through, we will no longer be able to make our fanart, write our fanfics, or even watch our favourite EU-based YouTubers such as Jacksepticeye, KickThePJ, Dan and Phil, Tomska, and SO MANY OTHERS! Artists, cosplayers, musicians, YouTubers, streamers and many other people will have a much harder time trying to earn income from the internet, especially on YouTube where their algorithms are already faulty enough.x
I’m writing all of this after Tumblr just announced that they will be banning all NSFW content through the use of a (frankly) very faulty algorithm. That ban serves as a HUGE example of why something like Article 13 will never work. If you think getting all your art and writings on Tumblr getting flagged for no reason is bad, imagine that happening on every single website on the internet, only this time it’s not just NSFW posts.
This is why I’m urging all of you to use your voices and fight against Article 13 because it is simply an act of censorship that will seriously cripple the way we use the internet for creating, sharing and communicating with each other. Reblog this post and use the sources I’ve shared with you here. Sign the petitions, contact your MEP and SPREAD THE WORD WITH YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY! Let them know what is going on and why they should stop it! Together we can make a positive difference for the future of the internet!
UPDATE!
Your voices are being heard! KEEP SIGNING, CALLING AND SPREADING THE WORD! You’re doing fantastic work!
When I said that you have a voice, I wasn’t joking! Your voice IS being heard and it’s making a difference! But the fight is far from over. KEEP FIGHTING!!
Link to article: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2018/12/four-million-europeans-signatures-opposing-article-13-have-been-delivered-european
2,000 notes! Thank you guys so much for spreading the word! Keep fighting the good fight and never give up!
SMALL UPDATE: The UK Government petition has reached it’s first goal of 10,000 signatures! That means the petition should now expect a response from the UK Government.
However, I think we can do better! At 100,000 signatures, the petition will be considered for debate in parliament. UK citizens, please keep signing and spread the word!