The Board of Trustees of the Wikimedia Foundation, which operates
Wikipedia, the world’s largest online repository of free knowledge, believe
that the European Union’s proposed copyright directive is a threat to
essential human freedoms. If passed, it would limit free expression, and
cause serious harm to collaboration and diversity online.
Over the last few months, the Wikimedia Foundation has been watching
developments around new proposed copyright laws in Europe very closely.
On June 20, the Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament voted to
support proposed copyright laws that, if enacted, will significantly limit
the openness of the internet, diminishing the ability of people around the
globe to access knowledge, while stifling innovation and imposing what we
believe will be unreasonable costs on new or smaller websites. We expressed
our opposition to these proposals at the time, and the Wikimedia Foundation
-- along with many in the Wikimedia movement—advocated against them. We now
do so again as we approach July 5th, which will be another critical moment
in the legislative process as the issue comes up for a vote once again.
The Wikimedia Foundation and its projects exist to harness the power of a
free and open web to make knowledge more accessible for everyone. Our
mission to create a world where everyone can share in the sum of human
knowledge requires a web in which all people can freely collaborate to
create and access knowledge.
This flawed EU copyright proposal contradicts that vision.
Instead of truly modernizing copyright for Europe and promoting everyone's
participation in information society, the proposal threatens freedom online
and creates new obstacles to access by imposing new barriers, filters, and
restrictions.
We are committed to remaining a strong advocate and partner for enabling
society’s ability to share and curate knowledge in free and open spaces.
Now is the time to stand up for the free and open internet.
Today we, as Trustees of the Wikimedia Foundation, *unanimously and
strongly*, urge the European Parliament and Council *to oppose* the
proposed directive in its current version and stand on the side of the
people in Europe. Please read the Wikimedia Foundation's statement on EU
copyright reform
<https://blog.wikimedia.org/2018/06/29/eu-copyright-proposal-will-hurt-web-wikipedia/>
and take action at
Changecopyright.org <https://changecopyright.org/>.
On behalf of the Board,
María Sefidari
Vice Chair of the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees