This time we have a heavyweight report for you. EVERYTHING is going on. In Denmark your face and voice will soon be protected by copyright. Meanwhile in Brussels, all levels of the EU are hotly discussing child protection, its brewing. Oh yes, and simplification is also very hot right now. The EU is under pressure to simplify its rulebooks.
Welcome to a busy rentrée, brought to you by WMEU :) === Denmark Copyrights Faces === Denmark’s parliament is expected to pass a bill that extends copyright protections to personal characteristics, such as voices and faces. It will include a protection against the sharing of realistic digitally generated imitations of people’s personal characteristics. In parallel, there will be a second protection for performers and artists against the sharing of realistic digitally generated imitations of their performances. There will be a solid majority in parliament for this and we expect it to become law by the end of the year. — Wikimedia Denmark has participated in the public consultation <https://dk.wikimedia.org/wiki/H%C3%B8ring/H%C3%B8ring_over_forslag_til_lov_om_%C3%A6ndring_af_lov_om_ophavsret_(Indf%C3%B8relse_af_en_pr%C3%A6stationsbeskyttelse_og_beskyttelse_mod_digitalt_genererede_efterligninger_mv.)>, pointing out that the exceptions and limitations foreseen in the draft proposal would be insufficient to protect all current users on Wikimedia projects. — Apart from this, the Communia Association <https://communia-association.org/2025/08/21/communias-submission-to-the-danish-consultation-on-the-proposal-for-introducing-protection-against-digitally-generated-imitations-in-copyright-law/> for the Public Domain and Professor Bernt Hugenholtz <https://communia-association.org/2025/08/21/communias-submission-to-the-danish-consultation-on-the-proposal-for-introducing-protection-against-digitally-generated-imitations-in-copyright-law/> from the University of Amsterdam, have additionally questioned the wisdom of using copyright to achieve this otherwise laudable policy goal. — At a Copyright & AI conference <https://danish-presidency.consilium.europa.eu/en/events/conference-on-copyright-and-artificial-intelligence/> in Copenhagen organised by the Danish Council Presidency, that Dimi attended, the Danish Minister of Culture was quite proud of the project. Ministry officials admit that it might not be the perfect solution, but also doubt that a perfect solution exists. Their reasoning for using copyright is that it already has an existing framework for content moderation that includes notices, liability rules, exceptions, and free speech protections. === More Copyright & AI === Speaking of copyright and AI, there is a parliamentary own-initiative report <https://oeil.secure.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/en/procedure-file?reference=2025/2058(INI)>in the works, penned by MEP Axel Voss (EPP DE) as rapporteur. It is non-legislative, so it will be essentially a document with a list of statements that a majority can agree on. Voss himself is suggesting that AI generated content should be public domain. There is also plenty of talk about how smaller organisations can negotiate their rights vis-à-vis operators of large language models, with collective licensing agreements being floated. — Currently amendments are being analysed and discussed in commission. They are expected to be considered on 13 October, a committee vote is scheduled for early December. The plenary vote is expected in January. == Child Protection === In the Council, the Danish Council Presidency is working on a declaration on online safety. From what we have seen it will include language asking for age verification for "social media and all other relevant digital services that pose a significant risk to minors". The open question here is which platforms exactly are meant by this. Declarations are non-binding in nature, but are often used to build political momentum ahead of legislative proposals. — In the Parliament, there is an own-initiative report on child protection online, led by digital powerhouse lawmaker Christel Schaldemose (S&D DK). It is currently in the drafting phase with compromises being negotiated. The rapporteur is suggesting that the report demands age verification mechanisms, not just age assurance, for social media and video-sharing platforms. It also demands harmonisation, including on age limits. We will see which of these demands get a majority, as criticism is pouring in from both left and right, albeit for different reasons: privacy, national competence and parental prerogatives. Such reports are non-legislative and non-binding, but serve to test majorities. — The largest political group in the parliament, and the one holding almost all important positions of power, the EPP, is working on its “digital position paper”. It is expected to demand age verification for online gambling and pornography. It also calls for a harmonised minimum age of 16 for the use of social media and video-sharing sites, in the absence of parental consent. The latter, according to the draft, could be achieved with age assurance measures. We will wait to see the final product. — The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, included child protection in her annual speech to the parliament. She name-checked Australia’s social media restriction for users under 16 based on age as a positive example and shared that she plans to commission a panel of experts to show the way forward. === CSAM Regulation === We have written about the proposal on fighting Child Sexual Abuse Material online <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulation_to_Prevent_and_Combat_Child_Sexual_Abuse> many times in this newsletter (and about the WMF position <https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12726-Fighting-child-sexual-abuse-detection-removal-and-reporting-of-illegal-content-online/F3338612_en>). The European Parliament has a good negotiating mandate <https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20231110IPR10118/child-sexual-abuse-online-effective-measures-no-mass-surveillance>, defending privacy by not mandating the scanning of all direct messages on all messaging services. The Council’s position is still not agreed upon, which is why the file is still stuck. — The development is that in mid-October there will be a vote of the Justice/Home Affairs Ministers. The Danish Council Presidency wants to remove the deadlock with a new compromise text <https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-10131-2025-INIT/en/pd>. The text has attracted significant criticism, mainly for fears that this proposal would break end-to-end encryption. If the Council manages to agree on a position, they will start negotiations with the European Parliament. === Simplification === The European Commission is looking for new targets to propose simplification, i.e. to cut bureaucracy or reduce regulatory burden. After the GDPR burden reduction proposal, which will reduce record keeping obligations for organisations smaller than 750 staff and which the WMF welcomes <https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/14700-Burden-reduction-and-simplification-for-competitiveness-of-small-mid-cap-enterprises-Omnibus-Regulation/F3593069_en>, they have now turned their attention to the so-called digital omnibus. It is with a focus on data, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence and the public consultation is ongoing <https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/news/commission-collects-feedback-simplify-rules-data-cybersecurity-and-artificial-intelligence-upcoming> . — Simultaneously, the Commission is also reviewing how the Digital Services Act interacts and overlaps with other laws and rules. It is also taking a second look at VLOP-specific rules, such as designation and calculation of thresholds. This could be of interest to Wikipedia, which is a VLOP under the DSA. — The work on simplification is accelerated by very strong language from national capitals, including Germany <https://www.politico.eu/article/friedrich-merz-vows-stick-in-the-wheels-of-brussels-machine-overregulation/> and Sweden <https://www.linkedin.com/posts/luca-bertuzzi-186729130_in-july-swedens-prime-minister-ulf-kristersson-activity-7377236716539248640-htTl?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAeproUBXNqHN69Lk4Kqhg9eynIXTdLelns> most recently, to focus on competitiveness and re-start the economy. === Do Paço === If you read the public policy list, the César do Paço saga will not have escaped you. The Wikimedia Foundation is now going to the European Court of Human Rights to contest the decision by the Portuguese court to hand over user data and remove some content. Jacob Rogers from WMF Legal has written up an excellent explanation <https://medium.com/wikimedia-policy/what-happened-in-the-c%C3%A9sar-do-pa%C3%A7o-lawsuit-f91b7fb5e54b> of the entire, multi-year development. === Data Retention for Criminal Proceedings === There is currently no harmonised EU regime with regards to criminal proceedings that specifies which metadata service providers should keep and for how long. The Commission has run a public consultation <https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/14680-Data-retention-by-service-providers-for-criminal-proceedings-impact-assessment_en> on this and the Wikimedia Foundation, as a service provider, provided feedback <https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ywq0eb14s-3j9m8omIVz4mMGw6ZbW7_P/view?usp=sharing>. Broadly speaking, the position is that data retention affects human rights and the public interest and that broader and longer data retention obligations would risk harming these. The WMF also cites its experience in this area, including cases such as the above (Do Paço). === European Research Act === The European Commission is running, yet another, public consultation on the European Research Area Act <https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/14608-European-Research-Area-Act_en>. Wikimedia Sverige stepped in <https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/14608-European-Research-Area-Act/F3713161_en> and provided public feedback. The key arguments made are that open access to research results is crucial for the dissemination of accurate information to the public, including through Wikimedia projects. It also outlines how researchers are often hindered by significant legal and technical barriers and makes the case for a broad research exception. === Civil Society Engagement === Not to be outpaced, Wikimedia Deutschland also provided feedback at the EU level recently. There was a consultation on the EU’s Civil Society Strategy <https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/14588-EU-Civil-Society-Strategy_en> and how to address the shrinking civic space for civil society. In its feedback <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qGKN1Lw2Y7Dula3kDOaNEwR8ptVOhu1g/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=110641574264354613563&rtpof=true&sd=true> WMDE emphasises the role of volunteers and the need to protect their rights, as well as to support community based models. === European Competitiveness Fund === The EU is discussing <https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/meetings/compet/2025/09/29/?utm_id=3318> its 2028-2034 long-term budget (a.k.a. the multiannual financial framework, MFF). Perhaps the main instrument in it is the European Competitiveness Fund (€409 billion are proposed). — The trick with such gigantic funds is that in the end no one really knows what exactly to do with the money. They have all these keywords written into their regulation, but what exactly are projects that could deliver? In the case of the ECF <https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-11770-2025-INIT/en/pdf> we can find terms like open-source, digital public infrastructure, sovereignty, competitiveness, and simplification. — Instead of arguing about five billion more here or there, and about whether to use the term “digital public good” instead of “digital public infrastructure” (just a made up example), it might be refreshing to skip the meta-level and to concretise the conversation a little with concrete examples of past funded projects that worked and such that didn’t. Just an idea. === END === -- Wikimedia Europe ivzw
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