Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1445886
14 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 26 JANUARY 2022 EUROPE These articles are part of a content series called Ewropej. This is a multi-newsroom initiative part-funded by the European Parliament to bring the work of the EP closer to the citizens of Malta and keep them informed about matters that affect their daily lives. These articles reflect only the authors' view. The European Parliament is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains. THE European Parliament has approved a version of the new EU Digital Services Act, which will bring in a bunch of new regulations in relation to digital platforms across Europe. Various amendments to the initial European Commission drafted version of the DSA that were supported by the music and wider copyright industries were knocked back. Though so were various amendments about which the music and copyright industries had raised concerns. So, all in all, it was a mixed bag. The DSA is not specifically fo- cused on copyright issues, with a lot of the debate around the proposed new regulations fo- cused on harmful and abusive content, and the responsibilities of digital platforms to block and remove such content, while also protecting freedom of expres- sion online. However, a plethora of pro- posals have been made along the way, some of which could have an impact on how copy- right owners enforce and ex- ploit their rights online. One proposal that was very much backed by the music in- dustry was for a wider 'know your business customer' obliga- tion to be included in the DSA. Commercial entities online are meant to be transparent about who is operating a service and where they are based, how- ever plenty of rogue operators fail to do this, making it harder to pursue legal claims against them, for example, if they are infringing copyright. To that end, campaigners have been calling for new rules that force online intermediaries to ensure their business customers comply with these obligations. But in the original draft of the DSA such 'know your business customer' rules were only in- cluded for online marketplaces, so the music and copyright in- dustries were supporting an ar- ticle amendment to extend the reach of that new obligation. However, that amendment was not voted through. Al- though the vote on it was in- credibly close. And a so called recital within the DSA text dealing with 'know your busi- ness customer' was amended. As a result, it's hoped that more can be achieved on that point as the DSA progresses to the so called trilogue stage, where the European Parliament, European Commission and EU Council come together to negotiate a fi- nal draft. Other amendments support- ed by the copyright industries – including a clarification that the removal of illegal content by digital platforms should be expe- ditious and in relation to search engines and safe harbour protec- tions – were also not passed. However, there were a number of amendments the copyright industries opposed – including around restrictions on upload fil- ters and web-blocking, and which would have impacted on music recommendation tools – all of which were also voted down. The aforementioned trilogue process in relation to the DSA should now begin at the end of the month. European Parliament's draft Digital Services Act is a mixed bag for the music industry