• by Sara Guaglione , Staff Writer, July 9, 2018

The infamous EU “ban on the meme” has been struck down.

The European Parliament voted against a new copyright law, called The Copyright Directive, 318-278 votes, with 31 abstentions.

The law aimed to hold big tech platforms, like Google and Facebook, responsible for distributing copyrighted material, as well as charge online content aggregators for sharing links to news organizations’ content.

While voted down for now, The Copyright Directive will be debated again in September, giving lawmakers time to rethink and reform the proposal.

It was supported, in large part, by musicians who want to protect their music from piracy and illegal streaming, but was criticized by those that believe fiercely in internet freedom and openness.

There is no question that something needs to be done to protect copyrighted information on large platforms, but two Articles in the proposal were especially concerning.

Article 11 wanted online content aggregators to pay news organizations for using links to their articles and text, commonly referred to as the “link tax.”

Article 13 would require websites to check for copyright infringements and use content recognition technology to filter out copyrighted content and prevent it from being uploaded.

Article 13 includes text, images, audio, video, compiled software and code.

The Articles effectively shift responsibility of copyright use from individual users to platforms, holding them accountable for the content they share online.

And while well intentioned, the Articles are flawed for a number of reasons.

An automated system that scans for copyrighted material, for example, is expensive. The one YouTube uses costs $60 million. Some argue that The Copyright Directive would also transform the internet from an open source tool to one of surveillance and control.

Yes, the digital age needs lawmakers to step into the world of online content. Consider Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica fiasco — an example of what happens when big-tech companies can access too much information. It gives them too much power with too little regulation.

Net neutrality on this side of the pond is another example of the confusion and uncertainty the future holds regarding laws around digital freedom. 

But stifling creativity is not the way to go about it. Copyrighted material should be protected, within reason.

That brings us to memes. Memes take images from pop culture — anything from music video and movie stills to photos of celebrities and politicians — and are edited with different text superimposed on them to communicate an opinion or message.

The proposed law would mean sharing quotes and images in memes would be impossible if platforms were required to take down any unapproved reuse of copyrighted material.

And what about music remixes that sometimes become more popular than the original?

What if you posted a video on Facebook of a charity drive you were holding, but a pop song was playing on the speakers at the event? A filtering system could tag the entire video as copyright infringement and block it from being posted or shared. Doesn’t that feel like an infringement on freedom of expression?

Memes may not be works of art, but they are a form of expression, bringing humor and connection to online communities.

The memes created about the end of memes are great fun. Look them up. While you still can.