EU Copyright Directive / Article 13 - a new hope

Not when it infringes on a much more important right: corporate greed.

Sorry peasant, next life, born filthy rich and with no soul.

Europe's always had a different view on the conflict between free speech and copyright. Whereas US law has fair use as a pressure release valve, that doctrine isn't as prevalent in Europe.

That's partly due to two different conceptions of copyright law. In the US, it's literally a "right to copy"--an economic-based right about getting the economic benefit of the work. In Europe, it's more droit d'auteur (author's rights)--meaning there's a moral and somewhat absolute right in an author's creations. The economic model has proven more flexible to speech concerns, as it's not as morally charged.

But more fundamentally, the UN really can't do anything. Its intended function was essentially to prevent another world war, not to serve as world congress--and it really doesn't have the power to act as one. See, e.g., five countries having super-veto power over it doing anything.

So this is for Europeans to solve.