Hong Kong copyright bill explained: Why are people so concerned about this?
Despite amendments, many fear controversial law will restrict creative freedom. Will the new Copyright Bill attack the vigorous Hong Kong sense of humour online? Will it mean people sending links to social media, songs and games online are guilty of copyright crimes?
Today’s Legco debate on the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2014 is the result of over a decade of controversy stemming from loopholes in the existing law, which make it hard to fight piracy on the internet. The government has been under fire from the global business community because the copyright law is outdated and lags behind international standards.
The government tabled a bill in 2012 but withdrew it after strong opposition. The now-amended bill includes six exemptions that are meant to allay concerns over freedom of expression.
The new bill has caused a rift among pan-democratic parties, whose major support comes from the younger generation, which is especially critical of the proposed law.
The Labour Party issued a statement yesterday afternoon making it clear that it would not back the bill and would join the filibuster initiated by radicals. But the Democratic Party has become the target of criticism after announcing that it would not join the filibuster. The Civic Party has not taken a clear stance on the copyright bill.
Here’s a look at the bill and the debate over it:
What are the exemptions proposed by the government?
Alongside making the law technology neutral, so as to cover copyrighted materials in the digital realm, the bill also has exemptions to balance the rights of copyright owners and the general public, particularly people who produce derivative works such as pictures, videos and music and share them on the internet.