If there is any doubts that Article 13 is unpopular, those doubts have been erased. The petition against article 13 becomes the most signed petition in history.
Article 13 opposition now has something to boast about. The change.org petition against article 13 has been named the most signed petition in human history. From BoingBoing:
As of this writing, the petition opposing Article 13 — the part of the EU’s new Copyright Directive that mandates copyright filters for online communities, services and platforms — has 4,920,535 signatories, making it the largest petition in the history of our species
Everywhere you turn in this debate, there is another large organization voicing their opposition to the laws. Late last month, we reported on Twitch joining the massive opposition ranks. That follows our reports that March 23 would be a continent-wide day of action – a report that has since gone viral with other outlets since reporting on the same thing.
As we’ve pointed out countless times, Article 13 is known as the censorship machines. The law would mandate that platforms and hosting providers implement censorship technology. Most people in the know point out that copyright filters of this nature do not work – frequently pointing to YouTube’s ContentID system as a perfect example of why. Frequently, the technology blocks out legal uses of work such as satire, educational, news reporting, and commentary purposes.
At this point, the question is, can the petition crack the 5 million signature mark? As of now, the petition has reached 4,922,776 signatures. There’s less than 80,000 signatures left to go to reach that next milestone. With history being made, how much can this petition cement the fact that it’s the most popular petition ever?
Drew Wilson on Twitter: @icecube85 and Google+.
