Poland files a complaint with the European Court of Justice for ‘upload filter’.

The Polish government has lodged a complaint with the European Court of Justice about the ‘upload filter’ which was approved in April. According to Foreign Minister Konrad Szymanski, there is a degree of censorship caused by European directives. That would be contrary not only to the Polish Constitution, but also to the European Constitution. Szymanski made that statement on the Polish channel TVP Info, knows Reuters.

As a result of the new directive, the copyright law is being tightened to such an extent that opponents fear for an upload filter for online platforms. The directives stipulate that authors of works are entitled to a share of the income from the publications in question. As a result, platforms such as YouTube and Google must actively work to protect copyrighted material and to compensate authors. Because such companies are responsible for the material that users upload, there is a fear among opponents that freedom on the Internet is restricted.

Complaint details not known

Like the Netherlands, Italy, Luxembourg, Finland and Sweden, Poland was one of the countries that voted against the new copyright law. So now the country is going a little further by going to the EU’s highest judicial institution. According to the complaint, the directives could ‘result in the adoption of rules equivalent to preventive censorship, which is prohibited not only by the Polish Constitution, but also by EU treaties’.

A lot of details about the complaint are not known. The Polish Prime Minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, did tweet that the new law “is a disproportionate measure that feeds censorship and threatens freedom of expression”.

Today in #Poland is European🇪🇺 election day. Are there any Poles reading this, who are voting abroad?
Don't forget to vote. #26May #EUelections2019 pic.twitter.com/JGbjqu6Pvm

— Chancellery of the Prime Minister of Poland (@PremierRP_en) May 26, 2019