Mexico's lower house passes copyright bill on internet providers
The bill goes to the Senate. Opposition parties say it threatens free expression; Morena, the governing party, and its allies say it protects creators.
Mexico's Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of Congress, passed a reform to the Federal Copyright Law on Oct. 7, by 325 votes to 114 with one abstention, that makes internet providers responsible for certain infringements by their users. La Razón and La Silla Rota report it. The bill, which comes from an initiative by President Claudia Sheinbaum, now goes to the Senate. The chamber's press release and the committee report were not found.
The opposition PAN, PRI and MC objected that the reform threatens free speech. PAN deputy Kenia López Rabadán warned that providers might have to take down content whenever "the government dislikes a piece of content." ARTICLE 19, a press freedom group, said providers might monitor and delete content to avoid fines, according to Publimetro. Morena, the governing party, and its allies the PT and the PVEM answered that the reform aims to protect people who create works.
What the text says
The text touches articles 114 Octies, 114 Nonies and 232 Septies. Providers must have a policy for cutting off repeat infringers. Earlier, the Economy Committee approved the report.
The nickname "Ley Antimemes" ("anti-memes law") is not the official name. It is also applied to a different reform, to the Federal Criminal Code and the industrial property law, which the Senate approved earlier. Sheinbaum said on Oct. 1 that the "so-called anti-memes law" does not ban memes and is "the law defending authors," according to El Universal.
The sources disagree on the fines, which Mexico's industrial property institute (IMPI) would impose. La Silla Rota cites 500 to 40 000 times the UMA, the unit used to calculate penalties. La Razón describes lower tiers, depending on the provision violated: 500 to 1 000 UMA in some cases and 1 000 to 5 000 in others. The vote on the specific articles was 310 to 97, according to La Razón and Publimetro.
The fines and the votes still need to be checked against the chamber's official gazette, and the sources do not include the platforms' position.
