DSA Obersvatory: The Out-of-court Settlement Mechanism under the DSA – Questions and Doubts

 Joan Barata Senior Legal Fellow, Future of Free Speech (Justitia) Introduction The Digital Services Act (DSA) constitutes the new legal horizontal framework in the EU regarding the provision of online services. It formally came into force on 16 November 2022. However, a significant number of rules and obligations included in this Regulation will become enforceable […]

Wired: The Internet Speech Case That the Supreme Court Can’t Dodge

WHEN THE US Supreme Court agreed to hear Gonzalez v. Google, its first case involving Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, the tech-policy world was laser-focused on its implications. The week before oral arguments, in February last year, the Brookings Institution held a panel touting the case’s “power to reshape the internet.” The New York Times wrote that the case “could have […]

Foreign Policy: Free Speech Social Media Doesn’t Exist

“These concerns imply that social media is a lawless mayhem when it comes to hate speech. But this characterization is wrong. Most platforms have strict rules prohibiting hate speech, which have expanded significantly over the past several years. Many of these policies go far beyond both what’s required and permissible under international human rights law […]

Social Media Age Requirements Are Anti-Free Speech

By Jeff Kosseff  Since the dawn of the commercial internet, Americans have spoken and accessed information online without providing their names. Political dissidents freely express their views. Patients search for health information without fearing public embarrassment. Domestic violence victims seek help online, shielding their communications from their abusers. State and federal lawmakers threaten to upend that culture of anonymity. And […]

Time: How to Kill Online Free Speech

BY JACOB MCHANGAMA AND JEFF KOSSEFF According to a new landmark decision by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), freedom of expression does not immunize public officials from criminal liability if they fail to promptly remove manifestly illegal content (such as “hate speech”) posted on their accounts by followers. The recent decision reveals the censorial route that Europe’s judiciary […]

Tech Policy Press: Regulating Online Platforms Beyond the Marco Civil in Brazil – The Controversial “Fake News Bill”

Joan Barata is a Senior Fellow at Justitia’s Future Free Speech project, and is also a Fellow of the Program on Platform Regulation at the Stanford Cyber Policy Center. Introduction Brazil’s President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has referred a proposed law to the Congress. Colloquially referred to as the “Fake News Bill,” the draft […]

Opnio Juris: Hate Speech by Proxy – Sanchez v France and the Dwindling Protection of Freedom of Expression

The Future of Free Speechs Natalie Alkiviadou in Opinio Juris The case of Sanchez v France is seen as a worrying development in the context of freedom of expression, as it involves the criminal conviction of an individual for failing to delete comments made by others on his Facebook post that incited hatred or violence […]

Los Angeles Times: Don’t be too tempted by Europe’s plan to fix social media

By Jacob Mchangama For many Americans, social media has become a monster. Platforms like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube are seen as festering hotbeds of hate and misinformation that threaten the very foundations of American democracy and civility. Calls for regulation have intensified, with some prominent voices looking across the pond for a model to regulate […]