HomeInsightsDelegation of authors call on European Parliament to bring fairness for authors in digital world

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The European Grouping of Societies of Authors and Composers (GESAC) reports that on 17 April 2018 a delegation of creators from eight different Member States presented a petition to the European Parliament signed by more than 25,000 authors and composers from across the EU, calling for an end to the “transfer of value” which certain major digital platforms are benefitting from, at the expense of creators. GESAC explains that nowadays these tech giants are the main points of access to creators’ works, generating vast revenues, but offer very little or no return to these creators.

GESAC explains that authors are requesting the European Parliament to “stop this parasitical economy and adopt a meaningful solution within the proposal for a Copyright Directive, allowing creation to be remunerated in the online market.”

According to GESAC, apart from the unfairness they create for the entire cultural sector, a handful of tech giants are dominating the digital media landscape across the world by controlling access to information. They are also manipulating the debate on copyright via their support of NGOs and unethical campaigns, using arguments about societal values like fundamental freedoms that twist and even remove the very meaning of those values for their own financial benefits.

The delegation expressed its full support for the position taken by MEP Axel Voss in this debate, whose ambition and current work focuses on finding a solution that would put an end to this problem. They urged the European Parliament to stick firm on this line and not let the circulation of information pollution, created by the deep pockets of tech giants all over the EU capitals and Brussels, curtail their vision for a Europe which is united in its diversity and creativity. To read GESAC’s press release in full, click here.