Most content hosting startups are likely to be too small to need to implement any tech at all, so they're fine as well for now.
The problem is that now it's practically impossible for a startup to scale up. The route to an exit for any startup hosting content and serving the EU is effectively closed, which is going to make raising impossible, which in turn will make developing a solution impossible. This law cements YouTube as the market leader in a way that no one can really challenge. They've been handed a de facto monopoly. That's the problem.
Anyway: the law will stay unclear for years, won't it?
This is a directive, which means each EU country will need to implement it through a local law, and then they will still be free to implement it the way they want it (unlike GDPR, which is a regulation).
Old businesses have shown time and again they are unable to understand what's good for them if it moves from the way it was always done (some, at least).
Youtube can't even proactively moderate its platform now, its always moving after a media outlet writes a hit piece. Even when they do react their solutions are ham-fisted at best.
I'm starting to think these companies (youtube/facebook ect) are simply too large and traditional economies of scale don't actually work in the way they do for non-tech businesses.
A small curated app store has quality apps published by humans. A giant app store trends towards being full of malware. The larger a platform becomes, the easier it is taken advantage of by bad actors.
I suspect content hosting companies will let anyone upload anything but only make the content visible to people in countries that allow it. A VPN won't help. The directive isn't saying "An American uploaded this so it's fine for everyone to see." It's saying "The original version of this is owned by someone else so no one in the EU can watch this derivative work." Who uploaded it doesn't actually matter.
How will the EU enforce that? Will they obscure any website that don't implement filters?
How can they enforce this?
I think many websites will simply move to other parts of the world. That is what I would do anyway.
For instance, if in India an Indian uploads a video to a website that doesn't implement EU-compliant filters, that video will get blocked?
How will the EU enforce that? Will they obscure any website that don't implement filters?
I haven't followed the whole thing closely, sorry--but any help in understanding would be appreciated.
- How internally hosted content is enforced
- How externally hosted content is enforced
- Would a VPN would help
.
Internally operated content: Fines to the company distributing the content (e.g. Google operates in the EU and if YouTube was not found to be compliant they would be fined).
Externally operated content: Not really sure, the EU doesn't have a "great firewall".
Would a VPN help: Using a VPN to upload your video to YouTube as if you were Canadian will not change that YouTube cannot show illegal content in the EU. The question posed by the law isn't "who uploaded it" it's "what is in it". Using a VPN to view videos as if you were Canadian would naturally allow you to see things blocked in the EU.
I'm more concerned about geo blocking by smaller sites. Especially GitHub. It will probably also mean the end of EU access to Reddit.
Basically every smaller site that allows upload of user content will face 1) dealing with legal uncertainty 2) buy content screening packages from Google, Microsoft etc. or 3) give usage statistics a hard look and implement geo blocking.
I think it's unlikely either site would leave the EU, but if it did, I'd be glad for the increased competition it might give rise to.
Indeed, I foresee our current internet content supply to converge to what's currently available on television, ie: a very few good shows, but majorly common denominator low quality productions. I hate what television has turned into. Where channels like Discovery would have interesting content now it's only storage wars and other formulaic pulp. Especially the lasts years there has been an emergence of very good independent Youtube creators focusing on niche topics. I really enjoy those videos. But with this change, where will they go to get their audience and income?
A small consolation is that it may also kill Facebook in the EU, giving more room for smaller, open source, distributed social networks like Diaspora, Mastodon and Friendica. If it's true that this only holds for profit-driven sites, as someone claimed in an earlier discussion about this.