Have you heard of "Article 13"? If you haven't, watch this video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbXHrj8k7dg This law could be passed by the end of this year. That's how close it is. THE END OF THIS YEAR, and no more ANYTHING. It explains that the EU is passing a law saying that no copyrighted content can be used without the owner's permission. This may not sound like a big deal. After all, aren't they doing that already? NO. This means that users on sites like YouTube, Twitter, SnapChat, Facebook, Tumblr, SCRATCH, and so many more, will not be allowed to post copyrighted content. That means no memes, no fanfictions, and no Warriors content. Do you believe this? Scratch literally runs on Warriors. If this new law is passed, users will not be allowed to post fanimations or pictures or stories about Warriors. Highly popular MAPs will have to be taken down, because they use characters from Erin Hunter. Roleplays about Warriors will be removed, because the Clans and hierarchies belong to Erin Hunter. @BrightShine, you won't be allowed to use characters from your favorite animes in your memes anymore. You (yes, you) can't use any background music that hasn't been specifically stated as free for use. I won't be allowed to make Minecraft animations. Scratch will be ruined, and oh, we haven't even gotten to YouTube yet. Think about how many memes alone have been shown or referenced in your favorite YouTuber's videos. That by itself could take down these videos. Now, think about all the LetsPlayers and mod showcases and gameplay channels you've seen. Any videos with Minecraft, Roblox, Fortnite . . . Hey, PopularMMOs, do you have permission from Mojang to use Minecraft in your videos? You DON'T? Out the door with you! Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, no more memes for you. Only vlogs, I suppose. Hey, is that Disney movie playing in the background approved by Disney? Now maybe you're thinking, Oh, but I don't live in Europe! This doesn't bother ME! Yeah, it does. Sites will have to isolate the European users from the other users, block them from getting any content from the outside in, block them from using any copyrighted content, and even then, it's difficult to track someone's location, so they could be lying, especially on a small website like Scratch. Website managers will find it easier and cheaper to simply have ALL users follow the same rules. As pointed out, there's a slight chance that "if ST would lack capacity (or AI technology) to moderate every newly shared project for copyrighted material, they may be forced to block ALL uploads. Not just the memes, EVERY upload. Including original art." Perhaps this isn't likely, but is a surprise of how drastically this could change Scratch. Now, okay, I see where they're coming from. Article 13 wants to stop videos like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tWXYeTucO0 from happening, videos where people steal work from others. However, the wording is vague enough for anyone to demand that "You can't use that [blank], I made it. No, I don't care that you gave credit, you can't use it" and the law would technically be on their side, and that's not cool for everything. Save the memes. Save the fanfics. Fight for your anime. We must stop this. _________________ Remix this project. Comment. Send links to your friends. Post it on social media. Leave a love and a favorite. Tell people IRL about the imminent death of memes. SAVE THE INTERNET.
Please watch the video. SPREAD THE AWARENESS!
