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Dalai Lama Marks 60 Years In Exile From Tibet; EU Controversial Update On Copyright Protection; Chopper Puffs Up Cloud Of Pollen
Aired April 01, 2019 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Thank you for making CNN 10 part of your day. I`m Carl Azuz at the CNN Center. We`re kicking off the month of April with
the subjects of digital copyrights and clouds of pollen but before that we`re explaining a milestone involving the Dalai Lama. It has now been 60
years since the Buddhist leader fled from his homeland. That land is Tibet, officially it`s an autonomous region of China meaning Tibet has the
authority to govern itself but is still ultimately ruled by China. The Dalai Lama is Tibet`s spiritual leader and he used to be its physical
leader too. That changed in 1959 when the Dalai Lama left the region to live as a refugee in India.
In fact today he jokes that he`s the longest guest of the Indian government. At 83 years old the monk has said age and exhaustion are the
reasons why he`s cut back on travel recently and questions about who the next spiritual leader will be and how the position will be filled grow with
each passing day. The current Dalai Lama is the 14th in Tibet`s history. The title`s traditionally given to the highest ranking leader among Tibetan
Buddhists and millions of them see the Dalai Lama as a living god, but China`s communist government has strict controls over the practice of
religion in the country.
It says the Dalai Lama must comply with Chinese laws and regulations and follow religious rituals and historical conventions. That`s why China
wants to fully control the appointment of the next Dalai Lama. Many Tibetans living in the region and abroad are not willing to accept that and
the current spiritual leader says if China chooses the next Dalai Lama, Tibetans will neither trust nor respect the person. So uncertainty clouds
the future of this highly influential role.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s been 60 years since the Dalai Lama last set foot in the land of his birth, Tibet. He was identified as the new Tibetan
leader by a delegation of monks when he was only a child and he was given full status as Dalai Lama at the tender age of 15. A process that was sped
up as Chinese troops marched over the highlands into Tibet to take control in 1950. Chinese leader Mao Zedong offered autonomy but demanded obedience
from people in the region.
The Dalai Lama took part in a series of peace talks with communist officials but then there was an unsuccessful armed uprising against the
Chinese in Lhasa on March the 10th, 1959. And the same year this photo was taken showing the Dalai Lama on his throne in Lhasa, he fled across the
Himalayas into India. Since then the Dalai Lama has lived in exile in northern India. In 1989 he won a Nobel Peace Prize for his dedication to
the non-violent liberation of Tibet. The Dalai Lama has always said he is only ever wanted enough autonomy to protect traditional Buddhist culture in
Tibet.
Chinese authorities insist he is a separatist trying to establish an independent Tibet calling him a wolf in monks robes. Beijing says the
Tibetan region has been China`s territory for centuries and denies any oppression since 1950, saying living standards have greatly improved for
the Tibetan people. In 2008, there were days of demonstrations which turned into riots in Lhasa. That lead to a crackdown in which Chinese
state media says 20 people were killed. Tibetan exiles say it was more like 150. In 2011, the Dalai Lama announced plans to devolve his political
power to an elected leader of the Tibetan Exile Movement.
A few years later in an interview with CNN`s Christiane Amanpour he explained.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: - - or might you be the last Dalai Lama?
DALAI LAMA: Possible. (inaudible). I feel. I personally feel better. The people should take full responsibility.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Beijing says any new Dalai Lama chosen in Tibet would have to be approved by the communist government leading the current Dalai
Lama to speculate his successor could come from outside of China. In 2016 CNN`s Matt Rivers was one in a group of journalists who were able to make a
rare visit to Tibet on a state controlled trip. Buddhism is one of five officially recognized religions in China but under tight government
supervision and surveillance and that is very much the case for the 6 to 8 million Tibetan Buddhists, many who have left the region.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: 10 Second Trivia. Which of these nations is not currently a member of the European Union? Hungary, United Kingdom, Lithuania, or Switzerland.
Switzerland isn`t a member of the European Union though it does have trade agreements and ties with the EU.
About a week and a half ago we told you how the European Union had hit Google with another fine for hindering competition. Well technology
companies including Google could wind up owing more money to the EU under its new copyright rules. When it comes to books, songs, art and movies, a
copyright gives a person or a business permission to make copies of the work or publish and sell it. Media companies and artists have said the EU
needs to update its copyright protections for the internet age and make sure the copyright holders are fairly paid for their content. But critics
of the EU rules say they`re too vague and they could lead technology companies to block too much content in an effort to stay out of trouble.
European officials say it could take two years to implement the rules.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The EU is poised to deliver a major blow against big tech with new measures that could place an enormous responsibility on tech
platforms when it comes to taking down copyrighted material. And this isn`t the first time that the EU has been on the forefront of regulating
big tech whether it`s data protection, anti-trust violations, tax violations, on all those the EU has led the charge on cracking down on tech
companies.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: - - and this is illegal under EU anti-trust rules.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But critics are arguing that these new regulations are not just a blow to big tech but also to internet freedom by potentially
chilling the average user`s ability to create and post content. The rule is called the European Union Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single
Market and it aims to protect copyrighted content on the internet. Sounds good in theory but various parts of the directive are proving to be
controversial. One of those components would make online platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and ReadIt all liable for copyright infringement
on their platforms.
Now this provision is extremely vague so no one knows exactly what it will look like in practice. But what it`s suggesting is that online platforms
use content recognition technologies to examine every single piece of content that`s uploaded to their sites. That is an enormous task. For
YouTube alone, that means filtering the more than 500 hours of new video uploaded to the site every minute and it`s not just video. Even memes
could potentially get these sites into legal trouble since the images used in memes are often sourced from copyrighted content.
Supporters of the new law point out that memes are actually protected because a meme is a parody which the directive still permits. But critics
argue that its unlikely that these automated content filters are going to be able to tell the difference between a copyright infringement case and a
parody case which could mean that a lot of content used legally may get caught in the crossfire. And that`s not just theoretical, it happens all
the time. In 2016 ironically enough, YouTube`s content filter mistakenly took down a speech made by the EU Trade Commissioner and that video was
even uploaded by a member of the European parliament.
So the goal of this provision is to make sure that the original copyright holders are paid their fair share. But for a law that`s meant to shift
some power away from big tech, it might actually end up helping them. That`s because right now building an automated content filter requires a
lot of capital. Capital that only big tech companies might have access to. Google alone has spent more than $100 million for YouTube`s current content
ID filter. A filter that still mislabels videos all the time.
For those platforms that don`t have $100 million to spend, the consequences of the rule change are unclear but what is clear is that companies like
Google already have an upper hand in this space. So we don`t know how exactly this will all play out but what we do know is that this has the
potential to change the internet as we know it around the world, not just in Europe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: `Tis the season for some "sneezein`". If you find pollen "upollen" you`re going to hate this. This video was shot from a helicopter passing
over the woods. The clouds you see are the pollen, the masses of yellow fertilizing grains that the helicopter is blasting off the pine trees.
Those of you with allergies are thinking fly higher.
This is a shot recently in Georgia where allergy levels are high and that`s not helped by this low flying chopper. If your eyes are "waterin`", that
10 out of 10 is a bust. Allergic sinuses and noses all flare up, in a cloud of dust, it`s unjust. In a gust, a tissue for us is a must.
Springtime everywhere, gets in your hair and coats your throat in crust. You can trust that when the rain comes, your head becomes aware. It
grounds the pollen down, it`s bound to finally clear the air. I`m Carl Azuz taking a deep breath on CNN.
END
