Open letter to MEPs who have voted against the copyright directive last Tuesday, because they are against censorship

I am too.

But as a smaller European online entrepreneur, and as a representative of many peers across Europe, I need correct compensation for the creative work that my authors and I do.

When you enjoy a cup of coffee and nice background music at a café, you pay for that coffee and music. If you are watching a theater piece, a part of your ticket price goes to the author of the script. If you receive a pillowcase as a gift with a nice quote from a poem on it, then a fee for the poet is arranged for that.

Why should it not be possible to arrange correct reimbursement for texts on the internet? In addition, exceptions such as in the analog world are perfectly possible: pastiches, memes, etc. remain possible without an algorithm (unlike the moral filters of Apple or Google, speaking of censorship ...) or compensation.

Perhaps the fair deal will decrease the billions in profit of the online platforms, but it will enable authors, artists and publishers to continue to provide a rich and diverse range of products, from bestsellers to niche products.

Every consumer, every user of the internet benefits from that, eternally.

Best online regards,
Rudy Vanschonbeek, FEP President , Vrijdag Uitgevers Founder and CEO