Thread by @EFF

Today, tens of thousands of visitors to sites across Europe will see them entirely blacked out in protest of the EU's #CopyrightDirective for #Blackout21.

Here's why:
eff.org/deeplinks/2019…

The #CopyrightDirective poses a dire threat to the future of the free, fair and open Internet. Sites are protesting in part because, as @Wikimedia says, this Directive makes the simplest basic actions of those Internet users—sharing and linking—suspect.
wikimediafoundation.org/2019/02/28/we-…

Under #Article11, the #LinkTax, text that contains more than a "snippet" from an article must be licensed and paid by whoever quotes the text—meaning countries could make laws that pass using as little as three words from a news story.
eff.org/deeplinks/2019…

#Article13 is a fundamental reworking of how copyright works online, and the Internet’s founders agree: lawmakers should reject this proposal, which would require Internet platforms to install copyright filters that will surveil and censor their users. eff.org/deeplinks/2018…

The sites that are shutting down today in protest are, without question, sites that are home to European creators: the very people that #Article13 and #Article11 adherents claim to be protecting. If you'd like to join in, visit blackout21.eu

The EU will vote on the #CopyrightDirective during the March 25 week session, likely on March 27. That leaves you with only a few days to contact your MEP to insist that they vote against it. saveyourinternet.eu

In just two days, on March 23, there will be EU-wide demonstrations against the #CopyrightDirective. Will you be there? savetheinternet.info/demos