Facebook, Google, Microsoft and other companies could have quite big problems if a new link and citation tax prepared by the EU were ever to come into force. We are talking about a legislative proposal that mainly affects Facebook and Google, with the aim of protecting content authors in a digital market where many lose control over what they create.
The EU wants to intervene here with a law that can compel companies such as Facebook, Google, Microsoft, YouTube, Vimeo and others to pay every time certain content is published on their networks. Those from APTI, the Association for Technology and Internet, call this legislative proposal a link tax, but we are talking about much bigger implications, but mainly for giants like Facebook.
Basically, the EU knows that many people share a lot of content on Facebook, and Google takes it over alone, but with the consent of the creators, called press editors in the legislative proposal. The EU also knows that much of this content is no longer accessed after the article/news title is published on Facebook, together with a picture and a description, the same being true for Google, people realizing what the information is conveying and making the decision whether enter, or not, the website.
Facebook – tax on links and quotes prepared by the EU
The EU is of the opinion that press publishers lose money when Facebook, or Google, or Microsoft, take over their content with description and title, publish it on their own platforms and people no longer access it, proposing a fee per link. Every time a link, or a quote, is published on Facebook, the user, the creator of that content, could charge a link fee.
The same can be applied to Google, or Microsoft, and together with Facebook, these companies should pay money to the press editors, even if people access the links. The idea itself is semi-stupid, because the majority of press publishers need Facebook and Google to generate traffic and money, and if these companies refuse to offer it, the losses will be huge.
Moreover, how the EU proposes to force Facebook or Google to pay money when a person shares a link, is difficult to say, but probably impossible to achieve. The EU initiative is supported by several large media trusts, one with publications in Romania as well, but I believe that Facebook and Google will find the right people to block its adoption, a vote to be held in September.
You can read the legislative proposal here and the impressions of those from APTI here.
