Saturday, 18 August 2018

Is Google the ultimate Puppet Master?

There is a fascinating article on the TRICHORDIST website that looks at who has been paying and who has been driving the resistance to amendments and reform of EU Copyright law (in particular Article 13 of the draft Copyright Directive). Vast resources had been pumped into a campaign to 'save the internet' from the greed of the bully boys and girls in charge of film companies, record labels, publishers and other content owners. But what is the truth and who is behind 'OpenMedia' - an organisation that on surface seems to be all about keeping the internet open?

Julia Reda, the German Pirate Party MEP may have been the public face of resistance to reform - But who was behind these campaigns? Well have a read and see what you make of this ...... But (SPOILER ALERT) the conclusion reached by author Volker Rieck is this: "Ultimately, US companies from the Internet economy financed significant parts of a campaign in Europe to influence EU legislation. What looked like grassrootes movement from the outside was in fact a classic form of astroturfing – designed to create the appearance of a popular movement....... "

There is more - much more in