If you ask any Millennial what Memes mean to us, you will find yourself listening to passionately held beliefs about which ones are the best and how crucial they are to everyday life.
Memes such as the Overly attached girlfriend, the African Boy and the Sean Bean have become an essential part of our lives. So much so that we have little idea of what the Internet would be like without them. Unfortunately we are set to find out very soon…
Article 13, part of the new EU Copyright Directive, was approved last Tuesday. Many people believe it could drastically change the way we share and engage on platforms such as Facebook and YouTube.
The controversial clause states that any copyrighted material uploaded online, must be licensed. This also means that platforms as well as individual content providers will be liable for breach of copyright if unlicensed material is uploaded.
According to the European Union, Article 13 will help spread the money more equally between original content producers and platforms such as YouTube, where the material is viewed.
While many brands such as Sony and Universal support Article 13, platforms like Facebook and Twitter are against it. YouTube has already spoken out with their #saveyourinternet page, a clear statement against Article 13. Founder of the World Wide Web Tim Berners-Lee, among many others, also signed a letter against Article 13. The letter states that this is a step towards the Internet changing from an open platform of innovation to a way of controlling its users. It also clarifies Berners-Lee’s support for alternative measures to spread money equally on copyrighted material, without the censorious effects of Article 13.
In my opinion, Article 13 is very complex and I understand both sides of the argument. I personally don’t agree with the Article and what’s behind it. I think it is only fair to music labels and newspapers for them to be paid for the original work they produce, but I think users should be able to refer to this material in order to comment on it and add something new themselves. For it to serve our imagination and creativity, the Internet needs to be an open space which enjoys such freedoms. I feel Article 13 will damage all of that in the long term. And Memes, so popular yet completely harmless, could be severely affected.
To me that is completely unacceptable, since so many people enjoy such material and it has never really led to loss of revenue for content originators – if anything, it has only added to their profile.
The changes won’t be implemented straightaway, so enjoy the freedoms we currently have…for as long as they last!
