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Given I'm European, I prefer to trust my democratly elected politicians rather than a comment from a random stranger on the internet. Sorry, but thanks for the

• sonnyblarney 8y ago
  You are also a 'random person on the internet' to all of us, so your logic as an argument does not very well apply. (Also - the EU is not Europe. It's a terrible habit that some Europeans have of conflating the two) The legislators who design these laws are not elected, and you have absolutely no ability to influence the direction of these laws. As an EU citizen, you should be more informed as to how this process works legally, but also materially. Legally, there's no relationship between voters, and the Commission designed with writing laws. They are absolutely not elected, and they don't take populist needs into consideration - in fact, it's designed specifically to not be democratic. The only hope you have might be to have MEP's amend legislation as it passes by, but almost nobody in Europe has an awareness of this process, they don't know who their MEP is, they don't know what they stand for. Can you tell me right now, without looking it up, the name of your MEP and what they represent? But this is all moot. The legislation is objectively stupid. It makes no sense. It will cause essentially an internet meltdown the likes of which nobody has ever seen. EU legislators are worrying about 'Brexit'? How are you going to live if Google, Bing, Wikipedia, and every other search engine goes black? Or when your newspapers instantly go out of business because the legislation meant to protect them kills them? The issue of 'democracy' and even 'good intent' are secondary to the fact that the legislation is very materially and very damagingly stupid. This legislation is the equivalent of making chemical weapons in your own home as a 'fun experiment' and then dying from it ... Even beyond the damage the legislation could do - it makes the Commission look basically incompetent, and it erodes the goodwill that they need to stay alive, as Euroscepticism grows on the continent. How will the plebes react if even just wikipedia goes black for whatever reason? It would be like the internet version of a 'bread revolt'.
  • antpls 8y ago
    > The legislators who design these laws are not elected, and you have absolutely no ability to influence the direction of these laws. Correct, but all 'designed' laws must be approved by the European Parliament, which is elected. > Can you tell me right now, without looking it up, the name of your MEP and what they represent? No, and I don't need to, because I eventually vote for a long-term political view and ideology, not for specific people. > Or when your newspapers instantly go out of business because the legislation meant to protect them kills them? You try to install a climate of urgency and fears, which is a tactic from far-right political groups. Building the European Union took times, and it is still being built. A legislation is not set in stone, it can be changed, by the same system, with adequate discussions and processes. It is known than the democratic system, with separated powers, is the least worst system of the political systems. So, at the end of the day, I have still more trust in the Commission and Parliament processes to defend my European rights than trust in your alarmist, pessimistic and defeatist opinion.