Article – The Legal Regulation of Hate Speech: The United Nations Framework as the Common Denominator for Europe and Asia

Published in the European-Asian Journal of Law and Governance (vol.10) Introduction Hate speech is a threat to the proper functioning of a democratic society and a damning force to central values such as respect and solidarity. It harms us on an interpersonal, community and societal levels and is “deeply rooted in the ideologies of racism, […]

Rushing to Judgment: Are Short Mandatory Takedown Limits for Online Hate Speech Compatible with The Freedom of Expression?

Rushing to Judgment: Are Short Mandatory Takedown Limits for Online Hate Speech Compatible with The Freedom of Expression? For the first time in human history, ordinary people have been given the ability to publicly share and access information instantly and globally through social media without the mediation of traditional gatekeepers such as newspaper editors or […]

Legal Matters: Dr. Natalie Alkiviadou. Free Speech, Humour, Parody and Satire.

During the podcast we discuss the right of free speech as a fundamental right and its correlation with humor, satire and parody. We also delve into the concept of hate speech and how this interacts or affects free speech. Dr. Alkiviadou explains the ECHR jurisprudence on the matter and gives examples from decided cases. We […]

Consultation response: Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill

Our written submission to the Scottish Parliament on the Hate Crime and Public Order Bill. See our contribution see here.  See a list of contributions.  Brief summary of our views: Whilst welcoming the abolishment of blasphemy, we are concerned about (i) the freedom of expression implications of the Bill (ii) the integration of speech and […]

The Digital Berlin Wall – How Germany (Accidentally) Created a Prototype for Global Online Censorship – Act two

The Digital Berlin Wall – How Germany (Accidentally) Created a Prototype for Global Online Censorship – Act two   The German Network Enforcement Act (NetzDG) continues to inspire authoritarian and illiberal internet censorship around the world. In under a year, the number of countries copy-pasting the NetzDG matrix to provide cover and legitimacy for digital […]

Paper: Does Freedom of Expression Cause Less Terrorism? (Accepted, Political Studies, 2020.)

It is often assumed that there is a trade-off between civil rights and national safety although the association is theoretically ambiguous. This paper therefore explores this association by estimating the effect of degrees of freedom of expression on the risk of terrorist attacks. We first note that different theoretical arguments support both a positive and […]

Analysis: The Digital Berlin Wall: How Germany (Accidentally) Created a Prototype for Global Online Censorship

Global Internet freedom is in decline. Authoritarian states manipulate the Internet to serve their own illiberal ends. But liberal democracies have also limited Internet freedom to counter contemporary scourges such as fake news, hate speech, and terrorist content. Germany´s Network Enforcement Act (NetzDG) is the most prominent weapon in the online arsenal of democracies. NetzDG obliges […]