Tech leaders and digital rights activists in Europe have expressed dismay over new rules they say could change the open nature of the internet forever — and potentially kill meme culture.

They have been fighting against Article 13 of the proposed E.U. Copyright Directive, which would place responsibility for enforcing copyright law on websites and platforms, rather than individuals.

It would mean that any website or platform that allows users to post images, footage, sound or code would have to use content recognition technologies — branded “censorship machines” by critics — to filter out just about anything that infringes on a copyright, and either prevent the platform from uploading or push it to seek licenses.