Remember when the German government was thinking about making search engines either remove news excerpts from results, or pay royalties for including them? Well, these changes could soon be enforced, and Google has launched the "Defend Your Net" initiative to urge the German people to stop that happening. On the campaign's pages, the search giant voices its opinions on what such a decision would do: harm the German media and, by extension, the country's economy. It also points out that its news service is ad-free, publishers can opt out of listings, and that some German outlets receive roughly half their traffic from Google searches. Anyone who wants to receive information on the bill's progress can register for email updates, and a tool is available to find the contact details of your local official if you're feeling proactive. Need firing up? Then check out Google's motivational video below.
Continue reading Google's 'Defend your Net' campaign asks Germans to resist copyright changes
Filed under: Internet, Google
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Via: The Next Web
Source: Google Defend Your Net campaign (German)
In the real world, copyright legislation seems simple enough -- don't steal something and claim it as your own work. Online, however, things are murkier. The EU Parliament recently passed a law that would stop users from uploading copyrighted content...
