WHAT TO FIX’s Submission to the Copyright Directive Consultation

As the EU reviews the Copyright in the Digital Single Market Directive (DSM), much of the discussion has focused on generative AI. While this is both necessary and timely, AI is not the only development that has transformed the online information ecosystem since the Directive was negotiated: platforms have also faced major changes to their monetization models.

In our latest submission to the European Commission, we argue that the DSM must be expanded to address copyrights concerns stemming from changes to platform monetization models and the financial incentives they create.

The rapid expansion of platform monetization of user-generated content has fundamentally changed the economics of copyright infringement. Social media platforms increasingly place ads on user-generated content, and offer revenue redistribution incentives that can encourage and reward the large-scale theft and reuse of copyrighted material.

At the same time, creators and publishers often lack meaningful transparency about how their content is monetized by platforms, how much revenue platforms generate from it, and whether infringing actors are benefiting from platform monetization schemes.

In this contribution, we argue that the DSM review should look beyond AI and examine how platform monetization models interact with copyright infringement, content theft, AI-generated content, and platform governance.

We also highlight persistent transparency gaps that remain despite the objectives of the DMA and DSA, and propose measures to improve accountability, transparency, and protection against copyrights infringement and revenue theft.