Romanian MEPs you’ve got mail! Over 100 postcards saying no to link tax and Internet censorship

In the last month, more and more Romanian voice are gathering to send out a clear message to decision makers: We don’t want link taxes and upload filters!

Besides calling and sending letters to Romanian MEPs to delete Articles 11&13 from the copyright reform proposal, EDRi member ApTI organised a series of activities to trigger more public attention regarding the damaging copyright reform proposals. Along with 57 other civil rights organizations, we also signed the Civil Liberties Union for Europe open letter to stop the censorship machine.

ApTI produced a series of postcards (available in Romanian here) for anyone to be able to engage with decision makers. This might be a more archaic method of communication, but we thought regulators might get this message better since elementary understanding about how the Internet works is clearly missing from our regulator’s perspective.

More than 100 postcards were written to 9 different Romanian MEPs sitting in LIBE and JURI Committee, as well as to the European Parliament Vicepresident. ApTI is taking care of delivery so that the postcards reach the MEPs well before the vote.

100 postcards might be a small number at European level, but it sure is a big number for Romanian citizens interested in such a niche and complex subject.

For two weeks in a row, the copyright reform proposal was intensively debated first in a roundtable discussion focused on Article 13 and the impact for Romanian digital businesses (event details here in Romanian and here in English). Together with policy makers, entrepreneurs and tech startups we explained why the uplod filter is illegal.

Next, we organised an informal event focusing on the overall negative implications of the proposed directive (event details available here in Romanian and here in English) and screened our copyright reform video series, as part of the copyright reform video campaign we launched in September.

ApTI and ANBPR launched a copyright reform campaign, video interviewing 10 people with different backgrounds to see how the new proposal will affect us. Find out all the different perspectives on ApTI’s YouTube channel and follow the video campaign. All videos have English subtitles.

If you are a teacher, researcher, librarian, trainer, journalist, blogger, content aggregator, Internet user, this proposal is significantly affecting you. Besides our copyright reform campaign website available in Romanian, ApTI partnered up with other initiatives to stop this copyright absurdity.

There is still time to tell your MEPs via SaveTheLink free call tool that the proposal does NOT fit the current digital environment. If you are a creator, check out the CreateRefresh.eu campaign for creators and sign up for the challenge to win a grant for the most creative content against Article 13. The creative brief for creators is available here.

Article by Valentina Pavel, ApTI Romania

Copyright reform campaign
www.apti.ro/copyright-reform

Playlist copyright reform videos (English subtitles available)
http://bit.ly/apti-youtube

Postcards for Romanian MEPs
http://www.apti.ro/sites/default/files/Carti%20postale%20reforma%20copyright%20%28mesaje%201-6%20fata%20–%201-9%20europarlamentari%20verso%29.zip

Cerem europarlamentarilor români din LIBE eliminarea Articolelor 11 și 13 din reforma copyright! 2.10.2017
http://www.apti.ro/scrisoare-libe-reforma-copyright-vot-5-octombrie

Internetul înainte și după Upload Filter (sau cum afectează reforma copyright business-urile digitale românești) 2.10.2017
http://www.apti.ro/copyright-reform-dezbatere-upload-filter-techhub

The Internet: before and after Upload Filter 2.10.2017
https://www.techhub.com/event/the-internet-before-and-after-upload-filter/

Filtrul de upload este ilegal (rezumatul dezbaterii ApTI din 6 octombrie 2017) 9.10.2017
http://www.apti.ro/rezumat-dezbatere-upload-filter-6-oct-2017

Donează “o bucată de hârtie” Internetului! 1.10.2017
http://www.apti.ro/dezbatere-reforma-copyright-doneaza-60min

The Internet needs you! The EU copyright reform is crippling it 1.10.2017
https://www.techhub.com/event/the-internet-needs-you-the-eu-copyright-reform-is-crippling-it/

Cum ne afectează reforma copyright în UE (rezumat dezbatere 13 octombrie) 17.10.2017
http://www.apti.ro/rezumat-dezbatere-reforma-copyright-13-oct

57 de organizații europene cer eliminarea mașinii de cenzură a Internetului 16.10.2017
http://www.apti.ro/scrisoare-deschisa-impotriva-cenzurii-Internetului