Germany's new copyright reform proposal related to Article 17 of the European Union (EU) Copyright Directive (formerly Article 13) will prevent internet users from challenging copyright claims against memes in many circumstances.
Article 17 requires large platforms that host user-generated content to ensure that their users don't upload copyrighted material and has faced heavy pushback ever since it was proposed.
One of the main criticisms of Article 17 is that the only way for platforms with millions of users to assess copyrighted material at scale is through the use of automated systems. These systems are notoriously overzealous when flagging memes, parodies, criticism, and other types of work that qualify for fair use - a provision in copyright law that allows copyrighted material to be used if it meets certain criteria such as being "transformative."
As a result, several countries, including Germany, have decided to rely on upload filters for their implementation of Article 17. These upload filters scan user-generated content as it's uploaded and then flag any content that they deem to contain copyrighted material.
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