Social media companies and content sharing apps could have to foot the bill for a vast automated copyright protection scheme under the most recent EU proposal to update copyright law. For those who remember, this is Hadopi on steroids.   It’s a proposal that, history tells us, is unlikely to be workable.  

The battle over social media content sharing is moving up a gear as the the European Parliament goes for a major vote on new copyright legislation this September.  A single, controversial provision in the propoosed EU Copyright Directive has brought the matter  to a head  in this latest round of the Hollywood vs Silicon Valley conflict.  As currently drafted, it could mean that social media platforms and apps would have to restrict content via an automated copyright protection system – dubbed the “upload filter” -  and they could be asked to fund the entire system.  

Read more: EU Copyright Directive - who pays the bill for the upload filter?

The British government’s White Paper for a new UK -EU partnership edges its way around the strict red lines of a hard Brexit in order to address the complaints of business and keep jobs in this country.    It does look rather like a bespoke form of trade agreement. But in trying to frame the  proposal such that it could be accepted by the deeply divided Conservative Party,  the paper seems to please no-one.  So how should we read it?

This post considers whether the White Paper addresses  the concerns of British businesses. It suggests  that the ‘common rulebook’  may be a problematic metaphor in an inter-connected  21st century business world.

Read more: Brexit White Paper - a common rulebook for 21st century business?

Galileo, a niche satellite technology programme,  has escalated to the top of the Brexit political agenda as  Britain and the EU  wrangle over access to it.  There is a thrilling  tension as the two have become locked in an  inter-governmental conflict overhung by industrial threats, against a  backdrop   of  science-fiction-like  technologies. Galileo symbolises the power of space communications for economic and security policy. And now the EU has signalled a red light to  Britain’s key demand for full access to a next-generation encrypted service.  

This analysis considers the EU’s new space programme proposals against Britains demands for inclusion in Galileo’s secure PRS service. It draws on the EU Proposal for a Regulation establishing the space programme  and the British government’s Technical Note: UK Participation in Galileo, with additional input from the just-released EU slides on space-related activities.

Read more: Galileo: EU blasts off to space future but holds UK on red signal