The German NetzDG law to counter illegal online speech has become a prototype for internet censorship in authoritarian states. The Commission’s proposal for the new Digital Services Act must avoid this template, write Jacob Mchangama and Natalie Alkiviadou.
Jacob Mchangama is Director at the think-tank Justitia. Natalie Alkiviadou is Senior Research Fellow at The Future of Free Speech.
Since the twin shocks of Brexit and the election of Donald Trump in 2016, European democracies have intensified efforts to counter the forces of populism that challenge the established order. This includes fighting back against the dark side of social media and what many politicians – including Chancellor Merkel and President Macron – perceive as a digital tsunami of disinformation and hate speech.
… Read the full piece at Euractiv.
Jacob Mchangama is the Founder and Executive Director of The Future of Free Speech. He is also a research professor at Vanderbilt University and a Senior Fellow at The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE).
Natalie Alkiviadou is a Senior Research Fellow at The Future of Free Speech. Her research interests lie in the freedom of expression, the far-right, hate speech, hate crime, and non-discrimination.