Strasbourg — European Union legislators voted on Wednesday to force Google, Facebook, Twitter and other technology firms to share more revenues with European media, publishers and other content creators in a shake-up of copyright rules. The European Commission, which began the debate two years ago, says the overhaul is necessary to protect Europe’s cultural heritage and create a level playing field between big online platforms and publishers, broadcasters and artists. Of the legislators, 438 voted in favour while 226 were against, with 39 abstentions. The next step is negotiations with the Commission and the 28 EU countries to reconcile their different positions before existing copyright laws are amended, with a final vote expected next year. French president Emmanuel Macron said the vote was a "great advance for Europe", while the Commission’s digital chief Andrus Ansip said it sent a strong and positive signal of a reform designed to protect EU researchers, educators, writers, med...
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