Experts Say EU Copyright Law Could End Memes

Experts said this week that the EU’s proposed Copyright Directive, which the Parliament is set to vote on later this month, may soon make memes illegal.

Memes, which are often humorous copies of slightly varied content, as well as remixes and other user generated content may soon be filtered as Article 13 of the directive will seek to compel platform providers to “take measures to ensure the functioning of agreements concluded with rights-holders for the use of their works”.

Jim Killock, executive director of the UK’s Open Rights Group, said that Article 13 takes a “Robocop” approach where anything that the automated system identifies as breaking copyright rules will get taken down, despite legal bans on laws that require ‘general monitoring’ of users to protect their privacy.

Source: BBC