I wrote this blog post for WhatNextLaw. I'm publishing it here as well, for archiving purposes.
Law ain’t Code: Upload filtering technologies and the CDSM Directive
A new provision entered the scene of EU copyright regulation, deeply affecting the uploading, accessing, and enjoying of online content. Some considerations on the legal and technological impact of Article 17 of the Copyright in the Digital Single Market Directive.
When Lawrence Lessig published “Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace” in 1999, a new – often misunderstood – mantra was born: “Code is Law”. With his book (later updated to Code Version 2.0), Lessig helped us understand that cyberspace, despite its peculiar nature, was not beyond the reach of physical space regulation. Contrary to popular ideas at the time, which claimed that cyberspace should not – and could not – be regulated, Lessig argued that, in cyberspace, freedom would not come from the absence of the State and, if left to itself, cyberspace would be misused as a tool for control and restriction. As such, a new form of public legal ordering needed to be built for our fundamental values and rights to also be protected online. And it needed to be built within the maze of Codes.
This is a text available in the About section of D3's website. It occurred me to publish an English translation here as well (machine-translated + a few manual improvements).
We made our best to be as less original as possible. Have fun trying to get all the uncredited references.
In the beginning was Cyberspace.
Open to anyone, it became the home of the mind of many good people, the natives. Self-declared independent and with its own rules, without physical borders. Above all free, full of potential and hope for the future.
Soon the abundant fertility of the soil aroused the attention of those still distracted. Forces from much older kingdoms began to invade. Some preached the sacred Law, others came only for the promised gold. After all, if a new sun was rising, it should be for everyone.
Prof. José de Oliveira Ascensão was a Portuguese-Brazilian lawyer and academic who for many, many decades was the main academic reference in Portugal concerning Intellectual Law (to use his expression) and, specifically, copyright.
I knew he was also popular in Brazil, where he worked for many years, but I guess I have been underestimating how widely popular he became there. Which might help to explain such a difference in the copyright culture of both countries – but let's keep that discussion for another time.
I created the .gif below – let's call it a short meme production – over a year ago, in August 2021. The process of creating it worked as a kind of therapy session, during my summer holidays, at a time when I was particularly down and exhausted. Little I know that one year later, in this last Summer, I would be much worse.
I didn't even have a purpose for it, it was just something I had to put out. It was a reflection on how digital rights are being defended in Portugal, and in some other countries. The situation is so ridicule, the asymmetries are so extreme, that I sometimes wonder if we are really brave or just fools. I guess we are both, we must be.
This blog post is a bit late. In fact, I have some more things to post about, but unfortunately I haven't had the time to update the blog.
In the Summer, I published a blog post in Kluwer Copyright Blog. It's about the educational copyright exceptions in several countries, in light of the transposition process of Article 5 CDSM Directive. It is based on two articles by Priora/Jütte/Mezei and Lazarova.
No inicio do mês participei no podcast "Justiça sem Códigos". Trata-se do novo podcast da SIC Notícias dedicado, como o nome indica, a temas relacionados com a Justiça. Conta a jornalista Ana Peneda Moreira ao leme e a análise do advogado Paulo Sá e Cunha. O som fica a cargo de João Martins.
The General Assembly of EDRi happened in May, in Berlin.
It was fantastic to see so many familiar faces in person, after 2+ years, and meet new people as well. These meetings are so energizing. I can't really explain it, there is something magic that happens when people from so many different places meet to conspire and fight for what they believe.
I participated in this panel about new data retention laws in Europe. I covered the recent decision of the Portuguese Constitutional Court, which stroke down our data retention law. It is still a bit too early to know what to expect from the Portuguese Parliament…
