I want EU citizens to know what happened in their name. The @EU_Commission acted as the long arm of multinational entertainment companies to block progressive #copyright reform in South Africa that would have helped millions of users & authors. A thread.
@EU_Commission On 18 February 2019, entertainment industry trade groups IFPI (music), MPA (Hollywood), FEP (publishers) etc sent a letter to the EU Commission, asking them to intervene in the ongoing South African copyright reform on their behalf. asktheeu.org/en/request/791… 
Their claim was that the reform would hurt creators, but actual creators were of a different view. Aside from introducing #fairuse, access to books for blind people and those who can't afford textbooks, the bill would also drastically improve the bargaining position of authors.
The European Commission was right at that moment shepherding the EU copyright directive through final negotiations, which includes very similar contractual rules to strengthen authors in their negotiations with publishers (but none of the improvements for users, like #fairuse).
So basically, the entertainment industry was asking the EU Commission to ensure that South African authors, many of whom are black and live below the poverty line, would not get the same protections in negotiations with publishers that EU authors would get.
To underline their strong disagreement with EU intervention in the democratic process in South Africa in the name of creators, actual creators' associations FIA, FIM & UNI MEI sent a letter to the Commission, begging them not to get involved. asktheeu.org/en/request/791…
In their letter, the authors’ organisations explained that the current copyright law allowed publishers & other intermediaries to exploit them, keeping all profits for themselves and leaving creators with the scraps. The reform was supposed to change that. asktheeu.org/en/request/791…
Incidentally, the authors' groups also said that #Article17, which would introduce #uploadfilters in the name of the so-called "value gap", was a sham and only designed to make rich entertainment companies richer, but that's not even the most outrageous part of this story.
There is no question that the EU Commission got the message. They sent a letter in reply, reassuring the authors' groups that "we welcome the modernisation of the copyright regime" and that "the text of the proposals has evolved positively". asktheeu.org/en/request/791…
All these documents are the result of an access to documents request I filed with the EU Commission for all information on the matter. In one letter to South Africa, they acknowledged that South Africa had already bent over backwards to meet their demands, but they wanted more:
In that letter, the EU Commission claimed it was "consulting widely with relevant stakeholders". By law, the Commission is required to disclose all files in response to my request. The weird thing is, I found no evidence of a wide consultation. asktheeu.org/en/request/791…
Here is a list of what the EU Commission disclosed: There are exchanges with collecting societies, academic publishers, other publishers, music & film industry, all rightholders, all criticizing the bill. Is this a wide consultation? What about users? asktheeu.org/en/request/791…
There is one file that could be construed as user consultation, an opinion submitted on behalf of a coalition of authors', technology and users' organizations on the constitutionality of the bill. Except there's no indication that the Commission replied. asktheeu.org/en/request/791…
Instead, you will find chummy emails from music industry reps to Commission officials, inquiring about their holidays and summarizing the positions of supporters and critics of the bill for them. So the Commission learned the position of civil society as reported by rightholders.
On 14 February 2020, the EU Commission held a meeting with rightholders, only publishers, music industry, Hollywood and collecting society representatives were invited. The minutes are worth reading in full. It won't take long, they fit in one thumbnail. asktheeu.org/en/request/791…
The entertainment industry claimed copyright reform that put creators and users first would hurt their profits. The way they put it, it would stifle South Africa's growth, but that's laughably overstating their importance. #FairUse and education are known economic benefits.
Meanwhile I was in DC, testifying with the US Trade Representative, where many of the same entertainment companies were making the case that the US should threaten South Africa with trade sanctions if the President were to sign the copyright bill into law. regulations.gov/docketBrowser?…
The Motion Picture Association, aka Paramount, Warner Bros., Sony, Disney, Universal, Fox & Netflix, were behind the petition to the USTR AND the letter to the EU Commission, urging both global powerhouses to bend South Africa's democracy to their will. regulations.gov/document?D=UST…
Astute readers will notice that these are hardly representatives of European economic interests. Nevertheless, the EU Commission took it upon itself to become the global enforcer of US film industry interests and sent a letter to the South African President on 20 March 2020.
In her letter, the EU Ambassador threatens the South African President with negative effects on the local economy, saying that "all creative sectors in the EU" will pull investments and making up tech company concerns that no tech company ever raised. asktheeu.org/en/request/791…
Under the combined pressure of US and EU trade threats, the South African President sat on the copyright bill for over a year, neither signing it nor rejecting it. Commentators pointed out that similar threats had been made against Mandela back in the day. dailymaverick.co.za/article/2019-1…
On 4 June 2020, the Association of Blind People in South Africa Blind SA took the President to the constitutional court to finally get him to sign the copyright bill that would grant their rights to access to information, education and non-discrimination. dailymaverick.co.za/article/2020-0…
Today, Blind SA shared the devastating news: The President will not sign the #copyright reform bill, but send it back to parliament: on constitutional grounds that, with all due respect, are reminiscent of many entertainment industry briefs I have read. blindsa.org.za/2020/06/19/bli…
The #copyright bill is not dead, though the entertainment industry has won this round. Parliament will have to vote on the bill again. But authors & users who could have benefited from higher earnings and better digital access to works during #COVID19 have already lost. The end?
I don't think this story should end here. South African democracy is strong enough to make its own laws and sort out its constitutional affairs. But what we Europeans should be concerned with is what policies the @EU_Commission is pushing on smaller trade partners in our name.
I for one do not feel represented by an @EU_Commission that sacrifices human rights and creators' interests in favour of Hollywood and major record labels, none of which are EU companies, by the way. I also take offense at neo-colonialist bullying of an African trade partner.
I hope that @EP_Trade will question the @EU_Commission on its out-of-control international copyright policies & remind it of its obligations toward us. I trust that @MargreteAuken, a champion of blind people's rights, @HeidiHautala and @MarketkaG will take this on. That's all.
