European Union: Internet users creatively fight back against new law which bans memes

On Thursday, meme culture was dealt a potentially devastating blow by the European Parliament.

MEPs have approved Articles 11 and 13, which means that all technology platforms must check that anything people share does not violate copyright infringement.

This means, for instance, that screen grabs from films or TV shows and illegally uploaded music, which is then posted on Facebook or Twitter, would break the law.

In turn, this means that you can kiss your sweet meme culture goodbye as the new legislation would render them virtually meaningless.

On Twitter, Julia Read, who is a pirate party MEP, explained exactly what Articles 11 and 13 will do, which includes a 'link tax' and an 'upload filter'.

Siada El Ramly, director general of EDiMA, the trade association representing the online platforms, added:

Today, MEPs have decided to support the filtering of the internet to the benefit of big businesses in the music and publishing industries despite huge public outcry.

We hope that governments of the EU will hear their citizens’ concerns in the next stage of negotiations.

Predictably, folks on Twitter have been reacting with a level-headed approach to the news.

However, the ever-resilient internet is finding ways around this legislation by yes, you guessed, it making more memes, this time with a creative way of avoiding any copyright laws.

HT Daily Dot