Europe passes digital piracy, disinformation measures

The European Parliament has passed the Digital Services Act (DSA), which comprises measures for European Union nations to battle digital piracy, among other crimes, reports Publishers Weekly.

Under the new legislation, platforms are more responsible for illegal material that appears on, is sold or otherwise distributed through their sites. The measure is intended to target the distribution of pirated materials, as well as making platforms more accountable for the spread of disinformation.

The Federation of European Publishers (FEP) praised the passage of the new legislation, but said it doesn’t go far enough in preventing illegal and pirated books from immediately returning to the platforms once they are taken down. ‘For the book sector, and publishers, in particular, the fight against online book piracy is a constant and tedious task, where pirate books must be removed almost manually while operating on a massive scale,’ said the FEP, noting it is particularly difficult for small and medium-sized publishers.

FEP president Peter Kraus vom Cleff said: ‘Europe is showing once again its leadership and that abuses from online services will no longer be tolerated’. ‘Data is the life-blood of online competition and gatekeepers will no longer be allowed to deprive publishers of data derived from our works or weaponise them to their advantage.’

Kraus vom Cleff added, however, that the DSA ‘does not include stronger tools to fight illegal content, such as a fair notice-and-stay-down mechanism’. ‘The DSA can only be a first step which the European Union will need to follow-up on in the future to actually ensure that illegal content online does not reappear after being removed,’ he said.

Companies found to be in breach of DSA regulations are liable for fines of up to six percent of annual global turnover.

Category: International news