Europe just passed a measure to censor the entire Internet. Essentially, all uploads can go through copyright filters and be blocked instantaneously - you'll have to fight to get them published.
Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty?
Whatever happened to freedom of expression?
The Europeans make the repeal of net neutrality by the U.S. look like a childish measure.
Time to seriously think about unplugging in the future, period. Going off the grid seems more and more appealing.
Stray Thoughts
I suspect that the powers that rule want the internet to be a lucrative marketplace constantly dinging our credit cards while we otherwise politely shut up.
The surveillance industry wants to know what we are saying and thinking only to the extent they can incriminate us.
Off the grid will end up being "shoot to kill" territory.
Here's another example of what 'advances' the digital age is bringing to us all.
https://twocents.lifehacker.com/you-dont-own-the-music-movies-or-ebooks-you-buy-on-ama-1829000327
To make a long article short, you can purchase an e-book (or song, or whatever) on itunes, and if the licensing terms change between Apple and the provider, that e-book can go away. Examples are provided.
Of course, that doesn't happen with real books or records - no one shows up in the middle of the night to take away your purchase.
While I like the convenience of digital media, I will never purchase stuff in only that format.
Reversing a purchase after it's been made is unethical.
It also discriminates against the end user.
After all, the movie stars aren't asked to return their earnings from making the movies.
We should sit in our prison cells and be happy that we're not treated like refugees at the border, but it's coming closer all the time.
There's usually a Buy It Now or something similar in Itunes, Amazon, etc..
But what these guys really mean is 'License it for an undetermined period of time, until we decide that we want more money, after which we'll take it away and force you to pay again if you still want it.' Unfortunately, that won't fit on the button. So they lie.
They don't *really* lie. This is all spelled out in the user agreement that no one reads, that they agree to when they sign up for the service.
I don't know of any digital delivery service, iTunes, Amazon, etc that actually states you are buying the music, or whatever -- they all state you are licensing it.
However, every service I've ever used allows one to save that item, be it music, a book, a video or whatever to any type of storage you like, be it an external hard drive, burned to a CD or DVD, flash drive or whatever. Once you put it into some physical form or storage, or put it in your computer outside of the program you used to make the purchase it, they can't retrieve it.
I have had no issues burning both data back up discs of everything I've purchased from Apple, Amazon, etc. And also have them backed up on external drives, etc. using, say, iTunes to play them is not necessary. Downloads these days are not imbedded with DRM that requires you to listen to, or keep them within the program in which you acquired it. Apple used to have DRM attached, a requirement of the owners of the music, but that went away.
A non-issue to me.
TIB
Buying in a digital download format is not an issue. Burn CD's. They won't come to your house to get them.
As for freedom of expression and innocent until proven guilty -- you've quoted two rights from the US Constitution. These new laws are in Europe. They have no such Constitution.
Equally, these laws to not apply to those not under that jurisdiction. Further, the uproar is huge and they won't last long.
TIB
Unfair Advantage
Tim brings up a very interesting aspect: "...This is all spelled out in the user agreement that no one reads, that they agree to when they sign up for the service."
In the personal reality of the buyers mind, which has no standing under the law, we believe in what life-experience has taught us: when we pay for something it becomes ours.
Of course the attorneys have been to law school and learned how to use words to shift reality to their own purposes, turning courts of law into huge game-boards with game-rules we cannot defeat through "common knowledge".
We lose our case at every turn.