The „link tax“ introduced in the course of the EU copyright reform could soon change the appearance of search results significantly. A preview by Google already shows the consequences that the introduction of the law could have.
Negotiations on the introduction and design of the Copyright Reform are currently in their final stages in Brussels. Articles 11 and 13 are particularly relevant for companies such as Google and Co., which would lead to the introduction of an ancillary copyright law throughout the EU, similar to the one already in force in Germany. In addition, platforms such as Google, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter would be required to check all content uploaded by users for copyright infringements prior to publication. In practice, this is only possible through automatic filters due to the gigantic number of uploads. Should Google wish to continue to display the search results as before, the group would have to conclude fee-based license agreements with all publishers in...
