Human Rights Here: Platform Liability, Hate Speech, and the Fundamental Right to Free Speech

Posted on by Natalie Alkiviadou in Digital Regulation, Global Free Speech, Hate Speech, News, Online Content Moderation, Our Perspectives

By Natalie Alkiviadou  Introduction The rise of social media has fundamentally altered the landscape of information dissemination, bypassing traditional editorial and governmental controls. This has allowed for rapid global information sharing but has also raised concerns about the influence of social media platforms, even in democratic societies. Legislative responses, such as Germany’s Network Enforcement Act (NetzDG) […]

International Press Institute: Media Freedom and Pluralism in The Republic of Cyprus: An Overview

Posted on by Natalie Alkiviadou in Digital Regulation, Disinformation, Global Free Speech, News, Our Perspectives, Press Freedom

By Natalie Alkiviadou  Introduction  The piece gives an overview of the situation of media freedom and pluralism in the Republic of Cyprus. The Republic of Cyprus has de jure sovereignty over the entirety of the island. In practice, however, its governance is confined to the southern region while the northern part of the island is administered by the self-proclaimed […]

UnHerd: Meta Outshines Musk on Free Speech with ‘From the River to the Sea’ Decision

Posted on by Jacob Mchangama in Culture, Digital Regulation, Global Free Speech, Online Content Moderation, Our Perspectives

By Jacob Mchangama X is the bastion of free speech on the Internet. At least that’s what Elon Musk and his raucous supporters would like you to believe any time one dares to point out his hypocritical, arbitrary, and often self-serving content moderation actions after taking over the social media platform. This week’s decision from […]

Reason: The Soft Totalitarianism of the Political Class

Posted on by Jacob Mchangama in Digital Regulation, Global Free Speech, In the news, News

By J.D. Tuccille It’s no secret that governments around the world are chiseling away at people’s liberties. Rights advocates document a nearly two decade decline in freedom. Civil liberties activists warn of a worldwide free speech recession. And while American restrictions on government power hold the line better than pale equivalents elsewhere, the political class seems determined […]

Tech Policy Press: New United Nations Cybercrime Convention Sets Unprecedented International Anti-Human Rights Standard

Posted on by Joan Barata in Digital Regulation, Global Free Speech, News, Online Content Moderation, Our Perspectives

By Joan Barata After two years of intense negotiations, the new United Nations (UN) Convention on “Strengthening international cooperation for combating certain crimes committed by means of information and communications technology systems and for the sharing of evidence in electronic form of serious crimes” (also known as the Cybercrime Convention) was adopted by consensus by […]

Reason: Telegram CEO Pavel Durov’s Arrest Is Part of a Global War on Free Speech

Posted on by Jacob Mchangama in Digital Regulation, Global Free Speech, In the news, News, Online Content Moderation

By J.D. Tuccille It’s appropriate that, days after the French government arrested Pavel Durov, CEO of the encrypted messaging app Telegram, for failing to monitor and restrict communications as demanded by officials in Paris, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg confirmed that his company, which owns Facebook, was subjected to censorship pressures by U.S. officials. Durov’s arrest, […]

Techopedia: Telegram Arrest Leaves Other CEOs Nervous in Europe

Posted on by The Future of Free Speech in Digital Regulation, Global Free Speech, In the news, News, Online Content Moderation

By Tim Keary Key Takeaways Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski has left Europe following the arrest of the Telegram CEO by French authorities. Pavlovski said French authorities have “crossed a red line”. The arrest of Durov has sparked a significant backlash from free speech advocates. Prominent figures like Elon Musk and Vitalik Buterin have criticized the […]

Reason: Free Speech Coalition Slaps Censorious E.U. Commissioner Who Threatened Elon Musk

Posted on by The Future of Free Speech in Digital Regulation, Disinformation, Global Free Speech, In the news, News, Online Content Moderation

By J.D. Tuccille Earlier this month, European Union Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton raised eyebrows when he publicly warned Elon Musk to respect the E.U.’s censorship laws during a then-pending interview with U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump. Even for the E.U., which has been slipping not-so-slowly towards soft totalitarianism, the attempt to extend E.U. jurisdiction […]

Euractiv: Civil Society Criticises Commissioner Breton’s Approach to EU Digital Rulebook

Posted on by The Future of Free Speech in Digital Regulation, Disinformation, Global Free Speech, In the news, News, Online Content Moderation

By Julia Tar Civil society groups and academics have criticised European Commissioner Thierry Breton’s recent letter to Elon Musk, the owner of the social media platform X, arguing that it misinterprets the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) and threatens free expression. The Open Letters In one of the letters, dated Wednesday (21 August), signed by The […]

The National Desk: Free Speech Groups Blast EU Official Who Sent Elon Musk Disinformation Warning

Posted on by The Future of Free Speech in Digital Regulation, Global Free Speech, In the news, News, Online Content Moderation

By Jackson Walker The free speech advocates on Wednesday rebuked Breton for appearing to “disregard” free expression in favor of enforcing DSA. “Your letter reflects an alarming disregard for freedom of expression,” the letter reads. “It is inconsistent with the design of the Digital Services Act (DSA) and, indeed, with the very spirit of a […]