Social media has become the means of communication of our time: it is the means through which online users interact, express their opinions, get information and even find jobs. Social media has been mostly praised for its role in enhancing free speech and the freedom to exchange views and ideas by providing for a forum … Continue reading Social Media, Fundamental Rights and Courts in Europe, by Evangelia Psychogiopoulou and Federica Casarosa
The recent decision by Facebook and Twitter to deplatform former US President Trump after the January 6th Capitol Hill events has generated much public attention. However, social media bans as a form of digital punishment adopted by online platforms are not new. Today, the phenomenon of social media exclusion, arising when individuals are prevented from … Continue reading Social Media Bans: What Platforms Can Learn From National Courts, by Edoardo Celeste
As the popularity of populist movements in Western countries increased, so did the concern that fake news could be spread and then exploited for political purposes. The reaction of France and Germany was almost immediate: in addition to launching specific programmes aimed at verifying the reliability of the news circulating on the web, it was … Continue reading Italy’s fight against fake news: a work in progress, by Alberto Nicotina and Simone Riganelli
1. The disruptive effect of electoral disinformation The phenomenon of disinformation has become one of the most challenging and preoccupying problems for policy-makers, courts, and legal scholars. Dissemination of false information plays an important role in many elections. That is why various countries have adopted special measures that would limit the disruptive effect of these … Continue reading Electoral disinformation and summary judicial proceedings. Is the Polish experience relevant?, by Adam Krzywon
Since the US presidential election in 2016, fake news has become a pressing issue on the agenda of governments around the world. As a threshold issue, however, the question must be addressed of whether the state should take steps in regulating fake news and if so, what kind of regulatory regime would be most appropriate. … Continue reading Lesson from Thailand: When the regulatory response to fake news is misunderstood as a problem of illegal content, by Pattamon Anansaringkarn
Introduction Fake news on the internet and how to counter it, has been a frequently debated subject in the past years. Most governments’ strategies involve cooperation with social media platforms to stop fake news and disinformation. It is not always clear what this cooperation entails, given that the specific algorithms that social media platforms use … Continue reading On the power of Big Tech to shape politics and culture, and its ethical problems
Since the Coronavirus pandemic outbreak in 2020, States have adopted stringent measures to curb the virus’s propagation. These measures include limitations of freedom of religion. On request of Governments, churches, mosques and synagogues ceased to hold ceremonies or limited the number of believers allowed. While the judicial procedures raised by the British Government’s guidance were rejected, the … Continue reading Freedom of religion during the pandemic: France and Belgium in search of consistency, by Romain Mertens
The regulation of fake news has been fraught with problems from the outset – and it is likely to remain so for the foreseeable future. There are a number of reasons for this, some connected with the nature of the internet and of social media in particular, some with the political climate around the world, … Continue reading Misunderstanding Misinformation: why most ‘fake news’ regulation is doomed to failure, by Paul Bernal
Call for Papers for the British Association of Comparative Law’s Annual Seminar Regulators around the world are grappling with the problem of hate speech online. Definitions of hate speech, the appropriate balance between regulation and freedom of expression, and the mode of regulation adopted, vary considerably across jurisdictions with distinct media and socio-political environments. The … Continue reading The Regulation of Hate Speech Online and its Enforcement in a Comparative Perspective
In the 21st century, the Proportionality Analysis (PA)—in its varied manifestations and permutations—has emerged as the most ubiquitous legal doctrine relied upon by judges in rights-adjudication. Typically, when applying PA, the judiciary would ensure that (i) the State is pursuing a legitimate objective; (ii) the governmental measure undertaken is rationally connected to the stipulated policy … Continue reading Proportionality in Asia (Cambridge University Press 2020), edited by Po Jen Yap
