The European Parliament has voted to delay new copyright laws that would have required the monitoring of all online uploads and could have effectively outlawed meme culture.

The proposed laws come amid a sustained effort by the European Union (EU) to regulate expression online and were met with a 'Save Your Internet' campaign which united activists across the political divide.

The EU attempted to rush the laws through and into secret negotiations with the European Council and unelected European Commission before UKIP and other parties pushed for a vote.

Earlier this week, UKIP leader Gerard Batten blasted the proposed laws, known as Article 13 and the 'link tax' Article 11, as an attempt to "destroy the capacity for free speech" online.