Hi all, The EU Kids Act is a priority for the EU, but Member States are still pushing their own laws. The European Commission is not amused. Meanwhile the copyright debate is gearing up, especially with regards to crawlers, mining, research and deepfakes. And some good news: Franziska Heine of WMDE has joined the Advisory board of the Digital Commons EDIC.
=== EU Kids Act: Brussels vs. Capitals === The Commission is treating the EU Kids Act as a top priority. In the European Parliament, IMCO <https://www.europarl.europa.eu/committees/en/imco/home/highlights> (Internal Market and Consumer Protection) will be the only competent committee. In the Council, the Audiovisual and Media Working Party <https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/council-eu/search-the-list-of-council-preparatory-bodies/audiovisual-working-party/> will lead and will be meeting very often to push the file forward. The fact that only one committee or working party per institutions was assigned does signal an intention to go faster than usual. — The Commission has also made clear that it does not want 27 different national systems in the meantime: in its first reply to a national law since the proposal, the response to Austria's TRIS notification <https://technical-regulation-information-system.ec.europa.eu/en/notification/28351>, it told Vienna to wait 12 months, so that Parliament and Council have time to negotiate common rules. Several other capitals that have notified laws (Belgium, Italy, Greece, Slovakia and France) are now watching to see how the Commission treats them. — However, this is such a tasty political bone that no capital wants to drop it. Austria's State Secretary called the pause "unacceptable" and Vienna says it will keep preparing its law for after the turn of the year. Flanders hinted it will continue with its ban for under-13s. Greece has approved a ban for under-15s starting 1 January, which may not even comply with EU law. Germany still wants a national stopgap (under-13s generally barred, graduated restrictions up to 18, and voluntary age checks via the EUDI wallet from 2027), but its ministry is now "examining what conclusions should be drawn" from Brussels' message; in the long run Berlin is counting on an EU-wide minimum age of 13. Portugal has notified an age verification bill <https://technical-regulation-information-system.ec.europa.eu/en/notification/29104>; the exemption covering our projects there is not bulletproof, so we are looking at a response before the standstill period ends on 29 December. France's ban, struck down by the Constitutional Court in August, is being reworked. — Wikimedia projects, code-sharing projects and educational and scientific repositories would benefit from a harmonised EU solution that exempts them clearly. Of course, the same cannot be said for other types of projects. === Copyright Consultation=== The Commission has launched a targeted consultation <https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/news/commission-seeks-feedback-challenges-and-way-forward-area-effect-technology-copyright> on copyright covering four issues: the use of copyright-protected content in AI, online piracy of live events, the single equitable remuneration right of music performers and producers, and copyright of scientific research. The deadline has been extended to 10 November. We already responded <https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/18172-Report-on-the-review-of-the-2019-EU-rules-on-copyright-and-related-rights-in-the-digital-single-market/F33504239_en> to the recent Call for Evidence on the same questions, focusing on AI and scientific research and skipping the other sections. We are now drafting our submission to the consultation. — You may have look at our draft <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_europe/Advocacy/Consultations/Targeted_Consultation_Copyright_2026> and provide comments and suggestions by 6 November. Preferably directly on Meta-Wiki or by email. Our main interests are crawlers and mining <https://wikimedia.brussels/wikipedia-is-running-on-its-own-metal-the-power-and-limits-of-self-hosted-infrastructure/> , attribution <https://wikimedia.brussels/credit-where-it-is-due-the-wikimedia-attribution-framework-explained/>, the protection of personal characteristics <https://wikimedia.brussels/deepfake-laws-across-europe-what-do-they-look-like-and-what-do-they-mean-for-wikipedia/> (aka deepfake legislation) and open access to publicly funded research <https://wikimedia.brussels/why-wikimedia-supports-secondary-publication-rights-for-publicly-funded-research/> . === Deepfakes === This ties in with the above. Several countries are legislating on deepfakes: Cyprus amended its copyright law in March, Denmark has introduced its bill and Belgium has a proposal <https://www.dekamer.be/FLWB/PDF/56/1728/56K1728001.pdf> for a new neighbouring right, now with the Council of State for advice. — Our main question is whether this is meant as a protection or the goal is a new market. We think the existing protections may be enough. If the legislator wants to create a new layer of exclusive rights and a new market, then all current freedom of expression, freedom of knowledge and freedom of information exceptions and limitations must apply. Not just satire, as it is currently in some proposals. — There is also an EU-level push, led by the S&D (centre-left). A draft of the group's tech "battleplan" calls for a default ban on harmful, non-consensual or deceptive deepfakes, with platforms and AI providers obliged to prevent their spread before victims have to report them. MEP Tiemo Wölken from that group expects digital-replica protections to feature in the Commission's forthcoming copyright initiative. === Finnish Copyright Consultation === The Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture sent a new draft copyright proposal out for consultation in September. It focuses on anti-piracy enforcement (wider information disclosure requirements), adjustments to extended collective licensing and safeguards for third parties against unreasonable burden. Wikimedia Finland has prepared its position <https://drive.google.com/file/d/17nW4ccrJ-MxfPBbpALmiiXxFuvH7zFtB/view?usp=sharing>, essentially saying that extended collective licensing shouldn't hurt free licences, the public domain or current exceptions & limitations. === French Senate Proposals on Copyright === Two French copyright initiatives are worth a look: a Senator has tabled a bill <https://www.senat.fr/dossier-legislatif/ppl26-058.html> reversing the burden of proof on originality, and a Socialist private member's bill creating a presumption of exploitation of cultural content by AI providers may soon reach the floor. It would probably be for the best if these remain individual proposals and don’t make it into a law, at least not this way. === French Unrests Trigger Dangerous Legislative Proposals === And since we are on the topic of French legislators being scary bold, let’s continue. Following the unrest linked to the French protests, the government is looking at ways to limit internet use, including telecom shutdowns. At the same time, amendments to the so-called "rioters pay" bill would require platforms to remove content that "manifestly incites violence" within two hours. Both could be very disproportionate if not handled with great care and considered calmly. === Digital Omnibus === The Council has agreed its position on the Digital Omnibus <https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tuo4qP1aq0_AKvAzeHudScZxTfM06SO0/view?usp=sharing>. Reminder: our initial position <https://wikimedia.brussels/editorial-wmeu-on-the-digital-omnibus-the-russmedia-decision/>. Our first take on the agreement: the new pseudonymisation language is a bit better, and the new cookie language could help with fundraising banners on Wikipedia. On open government data there is nothing new, as the mandate keeps the possibility for public sector bodies to charge higher fees to very large enterprises and gatekeepers. We are working together with Communia and CC to fix this through the European Parliament. Council and parliament will have to negotiate a final version. === Digital Commons EDIC === The Digital Commons EDIC is a European Digital Infrastructure Consortium that brings countries together to develop, maintain and scale digital commons: open-source software and open standards that public institutions, companies and communities govern together. It now includes a pilot of an EU Sovereign Tech Fund to commission maintenance of critical open-source components. — At its October Assembly <https://digital-commons-edic.eu/news/2026-10-27-assembly-decisions/> it appointed an eleven-member Advisory Board. We are delighted that Franziska Heine, Executive Director of Wikimedia Deutschland, is now part of that Board. This is great news for the Wikimedia movement's voice in the open-source and digital commons space. === Quick Updates=== CSAM Regulation: Still stuck. The Council's Legal Service has said that the "own-initiative searches" proposed as a way out of the deadlock would be legally even more problematic than the detection orders in the original proposal. After years of trying, officials still cannot square the circle between scanning and surveillance. — Data Retention: Sixteen Member States have asked the Commission to share its impact assessment before adopting any policy option on data retention, calling it one of the most sensitive topics in justice and home affairs. The Commission is preparing a proposal for a directive — WMCZ SLAPP webinar: Wikimedia Czech Republic is organising a webinar <https://www.wikimedia.cz/en/2026/10/14/learn-how-to-deal-with-strategic-lawsuits-against-public-participation-slapp-in-the-webinar-on-november-9th/> on how to deal with strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) on 9 November. ===END=== -- Wikimedia Europe ivzw
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