It's become known by the most controversial segment, Article 13, which critics claim will have a detrimental impact on creators online. YouTube, and YouTubers, have become the most vocal opponents of the proposal.
On April 15, 2019, the European Council – the political body composed of government ministers from each of the 28 EU member states – voted to adopt into EU law the copyright directive as passed by the European Parliament in March. Six member states (Finland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden) voted against adopting the directive while three (Belgium, Estonia and Slovenia) abstained from the vote. The remaining 19 member states all voted for the directive.
But it's not completely over yet. On May 23, the Polish Prime Minister's office announced it would bring a court case against Article 13 to the Court of Justice of the European Union. In a tweet, the Prime Minister's office said that the entire directive "fuels censorship and threatens freedom of expression."
Unless the Polish court case changes anything – and that's a big if – individual member states will have two years to turn the new rules into their own national law. To help clear things up, here’s WIRED’s guide to the EU Directive on Copyright