Earlier this month, Mexico passed a catastrophic new #copyright law, virtually overnight, without adequate consultation or debate. They did it as part of Donald Trump's #USMCA treaty.

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eff.org/deeplinks/2020…

The law is incompatible with the Mexican Constitution, a remarkable document that has some of the most stringent protections for free expression in the world.

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eff.org/deeplinks/2020…

The law mandates copyright filters for online services. These are the automated algorithms that block you from posting anything that someone has identified as their copyrighted work.

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Filters are blatantly unconstitutional. They represent "prior restraint" on speech - removal of content without a hearing or a court order. They are really poor substitutes for a judge.

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Filters can't tell if the copyright claim they're honoring is real or fraudulent. They can't tell if they're matching your own piano performance of a classical composition or one that Sony Music has registered.

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wikimediafoundation.org/news/2018/08/2…

They can't tell if they're removing your walk in the park because an unscrupulous company has claimed copyright on the birds singing in the background:

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support.google.com/youtube/forum/…

They can't tell if you're documenting a war-crime:

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reuters.com/article/us-glo…

They can't tell if you're livestreaming a scientific symposium where music is played on the lunch break:

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They can't tell if you're recording a protest where people are playing music:

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lumendatabase.org/blog_entries/b…

They can't tell if you're a giant media company presenting your own TV show at Comic-Con!

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deadline.com/2020/07/star-t…

Filters can't tell if you're making a permitted use of a copyrighted work - criticism, parody, etc. They can't tell if you're quoting something in the public domain, like the works of Juana Inés de la Cruz.

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Filters can’t tell if you’re an artist being blackmailed by a copyfraudster who demands cash or they’ll have your work removed:

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torrentfreak.com/youtube-strike…

When filters get it wrong, you have to get in line to get your free expression out of copyright jail. That takes a long time. How long? How about TWENTY EIGHT MONTHS:

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jwz.org/blog/2020/05/f…

Mexicans have the right to participate in their culture. The Internet is where our politics, civics, education and family life take place. Filters remove our speech at the speed of a computer, and the companies put it back at the speed of glaciers.

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Mexico's National Commission for Human Rights has the power to overturn this unconstitutional, terrible law. It must act to do so!

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