The European Parliament yesterday voted 438 to 226 in favor of the controversial Copyright Directive which is supposed to update copyright laws for the Internet age.

Note that the YouTube video (below) - which you should watch - was created immediately prior to yesterday's vote, so doesn't include the outcome.

Key provisions of the Directive are Article 11 and Article 13.

Article 11 - labeled the "link tax" by opponents - would create the ability for publishers and media to require Google and other online companies to pay for licenses in order to link to their online stories.

Article 13 - labeled the "upload filter" - would require sites like YouTube and Facebook to work proactively with rightsholders to prevent the sharing of unlicensed copyrighted material.

Interpretation and enforcement of the Copyright Directive would apparently be left up to the 28 individual EU states.

The final EU vote on the directive is scheduled for January 2019, and insiders close to the situation believe it's likely to be approved.

If that happens, the Internet will have undergone a cataclysmic change. Try to envision how Google, Facebook, YouTube and other Internet giants with worldwide presence will be able to cope with conceivably 28 different sets of rules for complying with this law.

Since this vote only occurred yesterday, I'm unable to find any focus of organized resistance to which we could lend support. But when I do, you'll be the first to know.