Felix Reda
{{Short description|German researcher and politician (born 1986)}}
{{Update |date=May 2019 }}
{{Expand French|topic=bio|Julia Reda|date=March 2017}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Felix Reda
| honorific-suffix = MEP
| image = Felix Reda, Januar 2022 (1).jpg
| office = Vice President of The Greens–European Free Alliance
| term_start = 10 July 2014
| term_end = 1 July 2019
| predecessor = Office Established
| successor =
| office1 = Member of the European Parliament
| term_start1 = 1 July 2014
| term_end1 = 1 July 2019
| constituency1 = Germany
| birth_name = Julia Reda
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1986|11|30|df=y}}
| birth_place = Bonn, West Germany
| death_date =
| death_place =
| party = {{ubl|Pirate Party Germany (until 2019) |Independent |The Greens–European Free Alliance}}
| spouse =
| children =
| alma_mater = University of Mainz
| website = {{Official URL}}
|module = {{Listen
|embed=yes
|filename = Felix Reda en.ogg
|title=Felix Reda introducing himself
|type=speech
|description=recorded January 2022
}}
}}
{{Pirate Party sidebar}}
Felix Reda (formerly Julia Reda; born 30 November 1986) is a German researcher, politician, and former Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Germany. He was a member of the Pirate Party Germany until 27 March 2019, part of The Greens–European Free Alliance. He has been Vice-President of the Greens/EFA group since 2014.{{cite web |url=http://www.greens-efa.eu/members/29-bureau.html |title=Bureau |publisher=Greens/EFA group |access-date=22 July 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130523144053/http://www.greens-efa.eu/members/29-bureau.html |archive-date=23 May 2013 }} He was also previously the president of Young Pirates of Europe.{{cite web |url=https://www.piratenpartei.de/grenzenlos-europa/eu-kandidaten-2014/julia-reda/ |title=Julia Reda |publisher=Pirate Party Germany |access-date=29 May 2014 |language=de }} After the 2019 European Parliament election, Reda was succeeded by Patrick Breyer (Pirate Party Germany), Marcel Kolaja, Markéta Gregorová, and Mikuláš Peksa (Czech Pirate Party).
In 2019, Reda became a fellow at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard.{{Cite web|url=https://cyber.harvard.edu/people/julia-reda|title=Julia Reda|date=2019-09-07|website=Berkman Klein Center|language=en|access-date=2019-09-07}} In 2020, he began working for the {{lang|de|Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte|italic=no}} (GFF, 'Society for Civil Rights'), as expert for copyright and freedom of communication.{{Cite web|title=Team|url=https://freiheitsrechte.org/team/|access-date=2022-02-02|website=GFF – Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte e.V.}}
Political career
Reda became a member of the centre-left Social Democratic Party of Germany when he was 16 years old.{{cite web |first=Stefanie |last=Widmannurl |url=http://www.general-anzeiger-bonn.de/news/politik/Gebuertige-Bonnerin-ist-Spitzenkandidatin-der-Piraten-fuer-Europawahlen-article1238363.html |title=Gebürtige Bonnerin ist Spitzenkandidatin der Piraten für Europawahlen |work=General-Anzeiger Bonn |date=10 January 2014 |access-date=8 February 2014 |language=de }} He studied politics and publicity sciences at the University of Mainz. In 2009, Reda started to become active for the national Pirate Party and from 2010 to 2012 he was chairperson of the Young Pirates ({{lang|de|Junge Piraten}}). In 2013, he was one of the co-founders of the Young Pirates of Europe. In January 2014, he was chosen to top the list of the candidates for the European Elections for the Pirate Party Germany, who subsequently won one seat.{{cite web|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/05/26/european_voters_make_pirate_party_walk_the_plank/|title=Pirate Party runs aground in European Parliamentary elections|first=Simon|last=Sharwood|publisher=The Register|date=2014-05-26|access-date=2018-06-07}}
In the European Parliament, Reda joined the Greens/EFA group. He was a member of the Legal Affairs committee as well as a substitute member of the Internal Market and Consumer Protection and Petitions committees.{{cite web |url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meps/en/124816/mep_home.html |title=Member profile |publisher=European Parliament |access-date=22 July 2014 }} He was on the Steering Committee of the Digital Agenda intergroup, a forum of MEPs interested in digital issues.{{cite web |url=http://digitalagendaintergroup.eu/members/steering-committee/ |title=Steering Committee |publisher=Digital Agenda Intergroup in the European Parliament |access-date=30 January 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150703102143/http://digitalagendaintergroup.eu/members/steering-committee/ |archive-date=3 July 2015 }}
On 27 March 2019, he announced in an online video that he had left the Pirate Party, protesting the fact that his former employee Gilles Bordelais, (whom he had previously championed as a suitable lead candidate for the party), had not voluntarily resigned as a candidate in the European elections while being under investigation for sexual harassment.{{citation |title=Warum die Piraten zur Europawahl unwählbar sind: Kandidat Gilles Bordelais |date=27 March 2019 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2qS56P-7kA |language=de |trans-title=Why the Pirates in the European election should not be elected: candidate Gilles Bordelais}}
Copyright reform
In 2014, Reda said that copyright reform would be his focus for the legislative term.{{Cite web |url=https://juliareda.eu/2014/06/i-will-continue-the-cooperation-with-greensefa/ |title=I will continue the cooperation with Greens/EFA |publisher=Julia Reda official website |access-date=22 July 2014 }}
In November 2014, Reda was named rapporteur of the Parliament's review of 2001's Copyright Directive.{{cite web |url=https://torrentfreak.com/in-europe-pirates-are-writing-the-copyright-law-150104/ |title=In Europe, Pirates Are Writing The Copyright Law |last1=Falkvinge |first1=Rick |author-link=Rick Falkvinge |date=4 January 2015 |website=TorrentFreak |access-date=5 January 2015 }} His draft report{{cite web|url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE546.580 |title=Draft Report on the implementation of Directive 2001/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2001 on the harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and related rights in the information society - PE 546.580v02-00 |publisher=European Union }} recommended the EU-wide harmonisation of copyright exceptions, a reduction in term length, broad exceptions for educational purposes{{cite news |last=Steadman |first=Ian |date=30 January 2015 |title=The Pirate Party's lone MEP might just fix copyright across the EU |url=http://www.newstatesman.com/future-proof/2015/01/pirate-partys-lone-mep-might-just-fix-copyright-across-eu |work=New Statesman |access-date=20 January 2015 }} and a strengthening of authors' negotiating position in relation to publishers, among other measures.{{cite news |title=Major copyright law reform on the EU agenda |url=https://www.alcs.co.uk/ALCS-News/2015/January-2015/ALCS-News-Bulletin-January-2015/EU-copyright-rules-maladapted-to-the-Internet,-upc |work=ALCS News |date=21 January 2015 |access-date=30 January 2015 |archive-date=14 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180214095813/https://www.alcs.co.uk/ALCS-News/2015/January-2015/ALCS-News-Bulletin-January-2015/EU-copyright-rules-maladapted-to-the-Internet,-upc |url-status=dead }}
Stakeholder reaction varied as the German artist coalition {{lang|de|Initiative Urheberrecht}} generally welcomed the draft{{cite web |url=http://www.urheber.info/aktuelles/2015-01-21_eu-urheberrecht-oettinger-und-reda-auf-der-suche |title=EU-Urheberrecht: Oettinger und Reda auf der Suche |last1=Pfenning |first1=Gerhard |date=21 January 2015 |website=Initiative Urheberrecht |access-date=4 February 2015 |language=de }} while the French collecting society {{lang|fr|SACD}} said it was "unacceptable";{{cite web |url=http://www.sacd.fr/Droit-d-auteur-un-projet-de-rapport-inacceptable-au-Parlement-europeeen.4156.0.html |title=Copyright: an unacceptable draft report at the European Parliament |publisher=Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques |date=22 January 2015 |access-date=4 February 2015 |language=fr |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150703045210/http://www.sacd.fr/Droit-d-auteur-un-projet-de-rapport-inacceptable-au-Parlement-europeeen.4156.0.html |archive-date=3 July 2015 }} author and copyright activist Cory Doctorow called the proposals "amazingly sensible",{{cite web |url=http://www.boingboing.net/2015/01/22/they-put-a-pirate-party-mep-in.html |title=They put a Pirate Party MEP in charge of EU copyright reform: you won't believe awesomesauce that followed |last1=Doctorow |first1=Cory |author-link=Cory Doctorow |date=22 January 2015 |website=Boing Boing |access-date=4 February 2015}} while former Swedish Pirate MEP Amelia Andersdotter criticised them as too conservative.{{cite web |author-link=Amelia Andersdotter |first1=Amelia |last1=Andersdotter |url=https://torrentfreak.com/pirate-party-mep-fails-to-deliver-true-copyright-reform-150125/ |title=Pirate Party MEP fails to deliver true copyright reform |work=TorrentFreak |date=25 January 2015 }}
In 2015, Reda's report was passed by the legal affairs committee, but with an amendment that recommended restricting freedom of panorama in Europe.{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/11695345/Freedom-of-panorama-EU-proposal-could-mean-holiday-snaps-breach-copyright.html |title=Freedom of panorama: EU proposal could mean holiday snaps breach copyright |last=Morris |first=Hugh |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=24 June 2015 |access-date=29 June 2015 }} Reda strongly opposed this amendment and campaigned against it.{{cite web |url=https://juliareda.eu/2015/06/fop-under-threat/ |title=Freedom of Panorama under threat |last=Reda |first=Julia |publisher=Julia Reda website |access-date=29 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905185821/https://juliareda.eu/2015/06/fop-under-threat/ |archive-date=5 September 2015 |url-status=dead }} The amendment was later voted down by the plenary of the European Parliament.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/live/uk-politics-33412173 |title=European Parliament as it happened: 9 July 2015 |last=Seddon |first=Paul |date=9 July 2015 |work=BBC News Online |access-date=9 July 2015 }}
In 2019, Reda was described as a leader in the protests against Article 13 (colloquially called the "upload filter" provision) of the proposed EU Copyright Directive, in which 100,000 people participated in street demonstrations on March 23, 2019.{{citation|surname1=Lisa Hegemann|periodical=Die Zeit|title=Julia Reda: Sie hat schon gewonnen|publication-place=Hamburg|issn=0044-2070|date=2019-03-26|language=German|url=https://www.zeit.de/digital/internet/2019-03/julia-reda-piratenpartei-eu-urheberrechtsreform-artikel-13-youtube/komplettansicht|access-date=2019-03-29
}}
File:July 2015 USA Copyright Reform meeting 28.JPG
{{clear}}
Personal life
On 26 January 2022, Reda announced that he is transgender and now uses the first name Felix.{{cite web|last=Löffler|first=Juliane|date=26 January 2022|title=Exklusiv: Ehemaliger EU-Abgeordneter Felix Reda outet sich als trans|trans-title=Exclusive: former member of the EU Parliament Felix Reda comes out as trans|url=https://www.buzzfeed.de/recherchen/exklusiv-der-ehemalige-eu-abgeordnete-und-digitalexperte-felix-reda-senficon-outet-sich-als-trans-zr-91261007.html|website=Buzzfeed|language=de}}{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/Senficon/status/1486293287938015235|type=tweet|title=Hello world!|last=Reda|first=Felix}}
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
- {{Official website|https://felixreda.eu/}}
- [https://www.europarl.europa.eu/meps/de/124816/FELIX_REDA/history/8 Member profile] on the website of the European Parliament
{{European Parliament MEPs, 2014-2019 (Germany) by party}}
{{Pirate Party}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reda, Julia}}
Category:MEPs for Germany 2014–2019
Category:Pirate Party (Germany) MEPs
Category:Politicians from Bonn
Category:Transgender male politicians
Category:LGBTQ MEPs for Germany
Category:21st-century German LGBTQ people
Category:German transgender men
Category:Transgender academics
Category:21st-century German politicians