Spain Could Ban Memes

Spain Could Ban Memes – the ruling party are considering a proposal to ban memes

The ruling Popular Party in Spain has made a proposal to ban memes. A meme is a comic image which spreads on the internet, often poking fun at famous people and political figures. The reform aims to halt the “spreading of images that infringe the honour of a person”, making special mention of the fact that Spain’s 1982 law covering this area is outdated due to the subsequent appearance of the internet.

An Attack On Free Speech

Campaigners are saying that this proposed ban is an attack on free speech. Spain’s Platform for the Defence of Freedom of Information said “We are worried about this reform because the internet does not require special laws; the same rights and duties should exist online as offline.”

The ruling party has said that they have no desire to clamp down on comedy memes, and are seeking only to prevent memes which are “insulting, involve death threats or accuse a person of committing a crime”.

Impact

So far the only impact of the proposed ban has been an increase in the number of memes depicting the Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. The memes are accompanied by the hashtag #SinMemesNoHayDemocracia – no democracy without memes