Revamped EU copyright law could mean the death of memes
Revamped EU copyright law could mean the death of memes
By Saqib Shah, The Sun June 8, 2018 | 2:14pm
Memes could be about to vanish from the web if the EU
enforces its revamped copyright laws, say experts.
The proposed regulation will force websites to filter out
text, audio, photos and video shared by users against an ever-expanding
database of copyrighted works.
Beyond memes, the law could — for example — impact still
or moving images that contain copyrighted music or posters in the background.
The regulation is the EU’s stab at restructuring
copyright law for the internet age in an effort to protect digital rights
holders like record labels, photo agencies and film studios.
But privacy advocates warn the rules — which will be
debated this month — violate the fundamental rights of internet users and could
be used to excessively censor the web.
They also inevitably place memes and remixes in the
firing line.
For those unfamiliar with the online phenomenon, memes
consist of photos, illustrations or film stills edited by users to put a funny,
new spin on their origins.
And now they’re at threat from Article 13 (as it’s
known), along with other forms of user-generated content, claim experts.
A campaign against the law says the proposals could
“destroy the internet as we know it.”
“Should Article 13 of the Copyright Directive be adopted,
it will impose widespread censorship of all the content you share online,” it
said.
The onus will be on the platforms that let users upload
material (think social media, Wikipedia and video platforms like YouTube) to
“prevent the availability” of protected works.
The EU suggests that these sites will need to adopt
technology that can recognize and block work that belongs to someone other than
the person sharing it.
YouTube, for example, already has a Content ID system
designed to flag copyrighted works, but entertainment companies claim the tech
isn’t doing enough to protect their content.
The Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition
has previously warned that: “Some requirements contained in Article 13 can
enable abusive behavior, thereby threatening freedom of expression and
information.”
Meanwhile, non-profit The Electronic Frontier Foundation
and 56 other rights organizations sent an open letter to European lawmakers in
October highlighting their issues with Article 13.
“Article 13 appears to provoke such legal uncertainty
that online services will have no other option than to monitor, filter and
block EU citizens’ communications if they are to have any chance of staying in
business,” it read.
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