On November 3, 2026, the Mexican Senate approved, with 72 votes in favor, the reform to the Federal Copyright Law (Ley Federal del Derecho de Autor) that social media has already nicknamed the "anti meme law." The Chamber of Deputies had approved it on October 7, 2026, so the decree was sent to the Federal Executive for publication in the Federal Official Gazette (DOF). Beyond the public debate about memes, the real change is for businesses: it creates a liability regime for internet service providers when their users infringe copyright, with fines that can exceed 4.6 million pesos.
If your company runs a platform, a marketplace, a website where third parties upload content, or provides connectivity or hosting services, now is the time to review your terms, policies and internal processes.
What Congress approved
According to El Imparcial and Zeta Tijuana, the reform amends article 114 Octies and adds articles 114 Nonies and 232 Septies to the law. In the Chamber of Deputies it passed in general with 325 votes in favor, 114 against and one abstention. Its sponsors argue that it aligns Mexican law with USMCA commitments; the opposition challenged that argument and warned of censorship risks.
The core of the reform is a secondary liability framework. As reported by Crónica based on the committee report, a provider will not be penalized simply for providing connection or technology intermediation services, and the reform does not require companies to permanently monitor all content. A provider loses that protection in two scenarios:
- When it contributes to, induces or causes infringing conduct and has knowledge of it.
- When it has the ability to control the infringing user's conduct and obtains a financial benefit directly attributable to that activity.
Zeta Tijuana also reports that companies must expeditiously remove material flagged as infringing. None of the sources we reviewed specifies a concrete deadline for that removal, so it will need to be confirmed in the text published in the DOF.
The repeat infringer policy
The most concrete obligation is to have a policy to suspend or terminate service for users who repeatedly infringe copyright. That policy must meet minimum conditions:
- Be permanently published on the provider's website.
- Be incorporated into the terms and conditions of the service.
- Provide minimum mechanisms to notify affected persons.
- Provide for suspension of service for repeat infringers.
The reason to take it seriously is financial: according to El Imparcial, if the policy meets those conditions, the provider will not be liable for damages caused to rights holders. In practice, it is the safe harbor that protects the company against claims from rights holders.
How much the fines can cost
Penalties are calculated in Units of Measure and Update (UMA) and depend on the infringement under article 231 of the law. Using the 2026 daily UMA value of 117.31 pesos, the reported ranges are:
- From 5,000 to 40,000 UMA (approximately 586,550 to 4,692,400 pesos) for most subsections.
- From 1,000 to 5,000 UMA (117,310 to 586,550 pesos) for subsection VI.
- From 500 to 1,000 UMA (58,655 to 117,310 pesos) for other cases under subsection X.
- An additional 100 to 500 UMA when the infringement persists.
Publimetro and Crónica report that the fines will be imposed by the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI). As for users, El Imparcial notes that penalties do not apply automatically for sharing memes; the focus is on providers.
When it takes effect
As of this writing, the decree has not been published in the DOF. Sources indicate it will take effect 180 calendar days after publication. If it is published in the coming weeks, the obligation would be in force around May 2027. Adjusting contracts, processes and systems usually takes longer than expected.
Which companies should review their position
The exact definition of internet service provider will need to be read in the published decree. In the meantime, at CounselHub we suggest this analysis for companies that:
- Operate online stores or marketplaces where third parties post photos, descriptions or videos.
- Manage communities, forums, apps or portals with user generated content.
- Provide hosting, cloud or connectivity services to clients.
- Earn advertising revenue or commissions tied to content uploaded by their users, since financial benefit is one of the liability scenarios.
Other companies also have homework: with a regime that gives rights holders more tools, it is wise to confirm that the music, images and videos used in advertising and social media are covered by a current license.
At CounselHub we help companies in Monterrey and across Mexico review terms and conditions, contracts with technology vendors and compliance policies. If your business operates online, we will gladly review your case before the reform takes effect.
