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Russia Bans Some Internet Memes That Mock Public Figures
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Russia Bans Some Internet Memes That Mock Public Figures
NPR's Robert Siegel interviews Kevin Rothrock, who wrote the article, "The Kremlin has declared war on memes" for Global Voices and Quartz. He talks about the Russian ruling banning the use of a public figure's image in a meme if it has nothing to do with the celebrity's "personality."
NPR's Robert Siegel interviews Kevin Rothrock, who wrote the article, "The Kremlin has declared war on memes" for Global Voices and Quartz. He talks about the Russian ruling banning the use of a public figure's image in a meme if it has nothing to do with the celebrity's "personality."
Russia’s (non) war on memes?
Despite what some have reported, Vladimir Putin did not actually "ban memes" earlier this week. So what actually happened?
Posting a meme on social media is supposed to be all fun and games, right? Not so in Russia. Events there last week led to headlines like "Russia's war on memes" and "Putin bans memes". But the truth is a bit more complicated.
The headlines came after Roskomnadzor (Russia's state internet regulator) posted a status update about the law on their page on popular Russian social network Vkontakte on 7 April. Far from banning all memes, as some reported, it actually had a meme on it. (For those who don't know, a meme is usually a digitally edited image with text - this one had a picture of the Morpheus character from the Matrix films, with the words "What If I Told You ... That You Are Fake").
So what was the post actually saying? It seems to have been a restatement of Russia's relatively restrictive laws when it comes to parodying public figures on social media. It included an reminder that the law prohibits "using a photo of a public figure to embody a popular internet meme which has nothing to do with the celebrity's personality."
Despite what some have reported, Vladimir Putin did not actually "ban memes" earlier this week. So what actually happened?
Posting a meme on social media is supposed to be all fun and games, right? Not so in Russia. Events there last week led to headlines like "Russia's war on memes" and "Putin bans memes". But the truth is a bit more complicated.
The headlines came after Roskomnadzor (Russia's state internet regulator) posted a status update about the law on their page on popular Russian social network Vkontakte on 7 April. Far from banning all memes, as some reported, it actually had a meme on it. (For those who don't know, a meme is usually a digitally edited image with text - this one had a picture of the Morpheus character from the Matrix films, with the words "What If I Told You ... That You Are Fake").
So what was the post actually saying? It seems to have been a restatement of Russia's relatively restrictive laws when it comes to parodying public figures on social media. It included an reminder that the law prohibits "using a photo of a public figure to embody a popular internet meme which has nothing to do with the celebrity's personality."
Russia wants to ban internet memes that mock Vladimir Putin
The Russian government has banned memes that “do not represent the personality" of the celebrities they mock. Which of course has nothing to do with Vladimir Putin.
The government watchdog Roskomnadzor, said in a post on Russian social media site VKontake: “These ways of using celebrities images violate the laws governing personal data and harm the honour, dignity and business of public figures.”
The recent clarification on meme law was ordered by a Moscow judge who presided over a case involving Russian singer Valeri Syutkin.
Syutkin, a singer of romantic ballads apparently targeted because of his gentle persona, had his image posted in a meme with the acronym BBPE, standing for “Beio Babu Po Ebalu,” roughly translating as “Smack the b**ch in face.”
According to the newspaper Izvestia, Syutkin’s mother persuaded him to take the case to court.
The Russian government has banned memes that “do not represent the personality" of the celebrities they mock. Which of course has nothing to do with Vladimir Putin.
The government watchdog Roskomnadzor, said in a post on Russian social media site VKontake: “These ways of using celebrities images violate the laws governing personal data and harm the honour, dignity and business of public figures.”
The recent clarification on meme law was ordered by a Moscow judge who presided over a case involving Russian singer Valeri Syutkin.
Syutkin, a singer of romantic ballads apparently targeted because of his gentle persona, had his image posted in a meme with the acronym BBPE, standing for “Beio Babu Po Ebalu,” roughly translating as “Smack the b**ch in face.”
According to the newspaper Izvestia, Syutkin’s mother persuaded him to take the case to court.
Russia just made a ton of Internet memes illegal
In post-Soviet Russia, you don’t make memes. Memes make (or unmake?) you.
That is, at least, the only conclusion we can draw from an announcement made this week by Russia’s three-year-old media agency/Internet censor Roskomnadzor, which made it illegal to publish any Internet meme that depicts a public figure in a way that has nothing to do with his “personality.”
Sad Keanu? Nope.
Sad Putin? Absolutely not.
“These ways of using [celebrities’ images] violate the laws governing personal data and harm the honor, dignity and business of public figures,” reads the policy announcement from Roskomnadzor.
To be clear, this isn’t a new law passed by parliament or anything — it’s just a (pretty startling) clarification of existing policy, published to the popular social network Vkontakte. According to Russian media, the announcement came in light of a lawsuit filed by the Russian singer Valeri Syutkin, who sued an irreverent Wikipedia-style culture site over an image macro that paired his picture with some less-than-tasteful lyrics from another artist’s song. On Tuesday, a Moscow judge ruled for Syutkin, prompting the Roskomnadzor to publish an update to its “personal data laws.”
In post-Soviet Russia, you don’t make memes. Memes make (or unmake?) you.
That is, at least, the only conclusion we can draw from an announcement made this week by Russia’s three-year-old media agency/Internet censor Roskomnadzor, which made it illegal to publish any Internet meme that depicts a public figure in a way that has nothing to do with his “personality.”
Sad Keanu? Nope.
Sad Putin? Absolutely not.
“These ways of using [celebrities’ images] violate the laws governing personal data and harm the honor, dignity and business of public figures,” reads the policy announcement from Roskomnadzor.
To be clear, this isn’t a new law passed by parliament or anything — it’s just a (pretty startling) clarification of existing policy, published to the popular social network Vkontakte. According to Russian media, the announcement came in light of a lawsuit filed by the Russian singer Valeri Syutkin, who sued an irreverent Wikipedia-style culture site over an image macro that paired his picture with some less-than-tasteful lyrics from another artist’s song. On Tuesday, a Moscow judge ruled for Syutkin, prompting the Roskomnadzor to publish an update to its “personal data laws.”
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