Thirteen European Parliament members accidentally voted the wrong way on controversial copyright amendment


Thirteen members of the European Parliament (MEPs) say they accidentally voted the wrong way on a crucial amendment to a copyright directive, reports The Verge.
Ten MEPs meant to vote in favor of the amendment instead of against, two MEPs accidentally approved the amendment and one MEP meant to abstain from voting. At the time of voting, the amendment was rejected by five votes, per The Verge.
A senior policy advisor for a digital rights group Diego Naranjo told The Verge the mistake made a "joke" out of the vote, and was a "step backwards" for the European Union.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Several MEPs attributed the mistaken votes to confusion over the order of voting, with a spokesperson for a Belgian MEP who voted incorrectly telling The Verge: "The procedural vote was a last minute oral amendment which was somewhat confusing."
Had it passed, the amendment would have allowed for further discussion and voting on two of the most controversial articles of the copyright directive.
The two articles under scrutiny have been criticized for undermining users' ability to share content across the internet and imposing strict filters on anything that could potentially violate copyright laws, reports Gizmodo.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Marianne is The Week’s Social Media Editor. She is a native Tennessean and recent graduate of Ohio University, where she studied journalism and political science. Marianne has previously written for The Daily Beast, The Crime Report, and The Moroccan Times.
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in Oregon
Speed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feud
Speed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’
Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoff
Speed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies
-
YouTube to pay Trump $22M over Jan. 6 expulsion
Speed Read The president accused the company of censorship following the suspension of accounts post-Capitol riot