Further criticism of YouTube “scaremongering and misinformation”

 

22 November 2018

Further criticism has been aimed at YouTube, amidst CEO Susan Wojcicki’s claims that article 13 presents a potential threat to the “livelihoods of thousands of people”, as well as new reports that the website runs pop-up adverts raising awareness of the issue. Earlier criticisms this month arose primarily from the music industry (as summarised here).

Similarly, on 21 November, music organisations IFPI, IMPALA, ECSA, ICMP and GESAC issued a joint statement on their position via Digital Music News. The statement describes YouTube’s position as a “campaign of fact-free fear-mongering [which is]… an attempt to derail the EU democratic legislative process”. The organisations claim that the EU Commission, Council and Parliament all agree on the existence of the “value gap”, and as such the Directive will “bring fairness”.

Furthermore, on 22 November, the Society of Authors issued statements via The Bookseller claiming that YouTube’s argument is “characterised by a loop of scaremongering and misinformation”. Instead, they say that the introduction of article 13 is “welcome progress for creators and users alike”. Other authors similarly claim that YouTube’s warnings are “manipulative at worst”, and are based on a desire to continue avoiding liability and profit from copyrighted content.