EFF’s Danny O’Brien writes with this urgent message for Europeans:
IPRED2, the insane EU plan to criminalise almost all copyright violation (meaning that rightsholders could pressure the police to prosecute companies they don’t like – eg a Euro-YouTube on the taxpayer’s dime, and even join police investigation teams as “experts” to assist looting and destroying business competitors), will be voted on on April 25th.EFF has been running a campaign against it at CopyCrime; they’ve worked with FFII, Europe’s biggest consumer group and the EU librarian’s association to file amendments that might fix it. Even the UK government has now thrown its weight behind the coalition’s amendments.
But EU citizens still need to stand up and tell their MEPs to vote for the amendments.
If you’re in Europe, your elected representatives are probably on a train right now to Strasbourg and preparing their voting lists for a vote ON WEDNESDAY.
Make sure when they reach their Strasbourg offices, they have hundreds of messages telling them to “Support the Librarians’, Consumers’ and Innovators’ Coalition Amendments to IPRED2”.
You can find your MEP here. If you have more than one MEP, go through the list. If you know they’re eurosceptics, point out that IPRED2 would give the EU new powers to create criminal law. If they’re euro-socialists, tell them Segolene Royal doesn’t like it. If they’re pro-business, point out that the Max Planck Institute for Intellectual Property, Competition and Tax Law hates it.
Copycrime has more details. Don’t let them turn you into a copyfighting criminal.
(Thanks, Danny!)