Download or read book Intermediary Liability and Freedom of Expression in the EU written by Aleksandra Kuczerawy and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: States increasingly delegate regulatory and police functions to internet intermediaries. This may lead to interference with the right to freedom of expression. In a time when these issues are of particular relevance, Intermediary liability and freedom of expression in the EU provides the reader with a framework to protect the freedom of expression in an online world.
Download or read book Intermediary Liability Freedom of Expression written by Aleksandra Kuczerawy and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 18 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the European Union, liability of Internet Intermediaries for third parties' content is regulated by the e-Commerce Directive. This instrument introduced liability exemptions for certain Internet Intermediaries, subject to specific requirements. The providers of so-called 'hosting services', for example, shall only enjoy such immunity provided they act expeditiously to remove illegal online content upon request. This mechanism, however, creates a risk for the fundamental right of freedom of expression. Without the necessary safeguards, this mechanism has the effect of inducing private censorship. Moreover, this mechanism has not been uniformly adopted in the EU countries creating a situation of great legal uncertainty. Cognisant of these problems, the EU has decided to review its rules on the Intermediary liability by commencing a 'Notice and Action' initiative. This paper describes the problem that the current legislation entails with regard to freedom of expression. From this perspective it, further, looks into the actions undertaken to this date by the European Commission on the topic of Notice and Action.
Download or read book Oxford Handbook of Online Intermediary Liability written by Giancarlo Frosio and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2020-05-04 with total page 801 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To better understand the heterogeneity of the international online intermediary liability regime, The Oxford Handbook of Intermediary Liability Online is designed to provide a comprehensive, authoritative and 'state-of-the-art' discussion of by highlighting emerging trends. This book discusses fundamental legal issues in intermediary liability online, while also describing advancement in intermediary liability theory and identifying recent policy trends. Sections I and II provide a taxonomy of internet platforms, a general discussion of possible basis for liability and remedies, while putting into context intermediary liability regulation with fundamental rights and the ethical implications of the intermediaries' role. Section III presents a jurisdictional overview discussing intermediary liability safe harbour arrangements and highlighting issues with systemic fragmentation and miscellaneous inconsistent approaches. Mapping online intermediary liability worldwide entails the review of a wide-ranging topic, stretching into many different areas of law and domain-specific solutions. Section IV provides an overview of intermediate liability for copyright, trademark, and privacy infringement, together with Internet platforms' obligations and liabilities for defamation, hate and dangerous speech. Section V reviews intermediary liability enforcement strategies by focusing on emerging trends, including proactive monitoring obligations across the entire spectrum of intermediary liability subject matters, blocking orders against innocent third parties, and the emergence of administrative enforcement of intermediary liability online. In addition, Section VI discusses an additional core emerging trend in intermediary liability enforcement: voluntary measures and private ordering. Finally, international private law issues are addressed in Section VII with special emphasis on the international struggle over Internet jurisdiction and extra-territorial enforcement of intermediaries' obligations.
Download or read book Fostering freedom online the role of Internet intermediaries written by MacKinnon, Rebecca and published by UNESCO Publishing. This book was released on 2015-01-29 with total page 211 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Internet intermediaries play a unique role in linking authors of content and audiences. They may either protect or jeopardize end user rights to free expression, given their role in capturing, storing, searching, sharing, transferring and processing large amount of information, data and user-generated content. This research aims to identify principles for good practices and processes that are consistent with international standards for free expression that Internet intermediaries may follow in order to protect the human rights of end users online.
Download or read book Internet Intermediaries and Copyright Law written by Stefan Kulk and published by Kluwer Law International B.V.. This book was released on 2019-10-02 with total page 526 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: All forms of online communications and interactions between people and companies on the Internet are facilitated by intermediaries – service providers whose decisions and policies have a shaping effect on the Internet, its users and the information shared on it. Today, because such intermediaries employ technologies that go well beyond the mere transmission and storage of information into new realms potentially disrupting existing business models, a rethinking of existing relevant law is called for. The legal analysis and recommendations in this book put the topic of intermediary liability in the perspective of copyright law and offer a vision on how to regulate that liability. In the context of in-depth and up-to-date analyses on EU, US, German and Dutch law, the author discusses such issues and topics as the following: the liability rules in the new Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market; liability for the intermediary’s own copyright infringements (primary liability); the intermediary’s responsibility to stop or prevent the infringements of others (secondary liability); the role that fundamental rights play in copyright law and intermediary liability; the rights and interests of copyright owners, intermediaries and users, and how they are protected; notice-and-takedown by service providers; website blocking by Internet access providers; the publisher’s rights and the use of online articles by platforms; legal status of hyperlinks under copyright law; and search engine use of copyrighted materials. A focus on the strengths and weaknesses of existing EU copyright law concerning Internet intermediaries in terms of how future-proof that law is, includes detailed attention to legislation, regulation and case law. With its deeply informed guidance with respect to the methods of regulation in a domain that is heavily influenced by technological developments, this book will be welcomed by policymakers, legislators, academics, judges and practitioners working in the area of copyright law as applied to the Internet. The detailed attention to the extent to which an intermediary can be held liable for copyright infringements in both the EU and the US will prove highly beneficial for in-house counsellors and advisors working for rights holder organizations and intermediary service providers.
Download or read book Search Engine Freedom written by Joris van Hoboken and published by Kluwer Law International B.V.. This book was released on 2012-10-01 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book, the author explores how search media can be incorporated into freedom of expression doctrine, as well as media and communications law and policy more generally. And the book develops a theory of the legal relations between national governments and search media providers on the one hand and between end-users and information providers on the other. Among the many issues covered are the following: role of government under the right to freedom of expression; lack of transparency about the ranking and selection of search results; search engine and ISP intermediary liability; filtering by access providers; freedom of expression and the governance of public libraries; the search engine market, its business model and the separation rule for advertising; search engine self-regulation; user profiling and personalization; decisions and actions for which search engines should be able to claim protection. The analysis draws on specific legal developments under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights and the United States First Amendment, and investigates issues of diversity, pluralism, and freedom of expression as they relate to editorial control in other media. The author concludes with recommendations regarding search engine governance and the proper role of government, indicating which existing elements of the regulatory framework for search media can be improved and offering directions for future legal and empirical research. Considering the ever-growing cultural, political, and economic importance of the Internet and the World Wide Web in our societies, and the societal interests involved in the availability of effective search tools, this first in-depth legal analysis of search engine freedom will prove indispensable to the many practitioners and policymakers concerned with freedom of expression in the digital age.
Download or read book Fundamental Rights Protection Online written by Bilyana Petkova and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2020-12-25 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fundamental Rights Protection Online presents an in-depth analysis of national, supranational and international attempts at online speech regulation, illustrating how the law has been unsettled on how to treat intermediaries.
Download or read book Sometimes One is Not Enough Securing Freedom of Expression Encouraging Private Regulation Or Subsidizing Internet Intermediaries Or All Three at the Same Time written by Sophie Stalla-Bourdillon and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 22 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Riding too many horses at the same time without having identified in the first place the precise direction to follow cannot bring the rider very far. Yet this is what might happen in the field of Internet intermediaries' liability if the initial premises as well as their implications are not made clearer at the policy level and if the legal rules meant to implement them are not construed accordingly and consistently when applied in practice on a case-by-case basis. Indeed, three (and not one) rationales can be extracted from the text of the Directive on e-commerce and its provisions regarding the liability of intermediary providers: securing freedom of expression, encouraging content regulation the initiative of which should come from Internet intermediaries as well as promoting the growth of the single digital market by subsidizing private actors having a key role in the innovation process; hence, the dilemma of Internet intermediaries' liability and the re-emergence of divergences at Member state level. In an attempt to clarify the terms of the debate, the purpose of this article is therefore to deconstruct the European system of liability exemptions for Internet intermediaries and shed light upon its fundamental assumptions and corollaries in order to appraise the appropriateness of the solutions that have recently been adopted both at supra-national and national levels.
Download or read book Intermediary Liability in India written by Rishabh Dara and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Intermediaries are widely recognised as essential cogs in the wheel of exercising the right to freedom of expression on the Internet. Most major jurisdictions around the world have introduced legislations for limiting intermediary liability in order to ensure that this wheel does not stop spinning. With the 2008 amendment of the Information Technology Act 2000, India joined the bandwagon and established a 'notice and takedown' regime for limiting intermediary liability. On the 11th of April 2011, the Government of India notified the 'Information Technology (Intermediaries Guidelines) Rules 2011' that prescribe, amongst other things, guidelines for administration of takedowns by intermediaries. The Rules have been criticised extensively by both the national and the international media. The media has projected that the Rules, contrary to the objective of promoting free expression, seem to encourage privately administered injunctions to censor and chill free expression. On the other hand, the Government has responded through press releases and assured that the Rules in their current form do not violate the principle of freedom of expression or allow the government to regulate content. This study has been conducted with the objective of determining whether the criteria, procedure and safeguards for administration of the takedowns as prescribed by the Rules lead to a chilling effect on online free expression. In the course of the study, takedown notices were sent to a sample comprising of 7 prominent intermediaries and their response to the notices was documented. Different policy factors were permuted in the takedown notices in order to understand at what points in the process of takedown, free expression is being chilled. The results of the paper clearly demonstrate that the Rules indeed have a chilling effect on free expression. Specifically, the Rules create uncertainty in the criteria and procedure for administering the takedown thereby inducing the intermediaries to err on the side of caution and over-comply with takedown notices in order to limit their liability; and as a result suppress legitimate expressions. Additionally, the Rules do not establish sufficient safeguards to prevent misuse and abuse of the takedown process to suppress legitimate expressions. Of the 7 intermediaries to which takedown notices were sent, 6 intermediaries over-complied with the notices, despite the apparent flaws in them. From the responses to the takedown notices, it can be reasonably presumed that not all intermediaries have sufficient legal competence or resources to deliberate on the legality of an expression. Even if such intermediary has sufficient legal competence, it has a tendency to prioritize the allocation of its legal resources according to the commercial importance of impugned expressions. Further, if such subjective determination is required to be done in a limited timeframe and in the absence of adequate facts and circumstances, the intermediary mechanically (without application of mind or proper judgement) complies with the takedown notice. The results also demonstrate that the Rules are procedurally flawed as they ignore all elements of natural justice. The third party provider of information whose expression is censored is not informed about the takedown, let alone given an opportunity to be heard before or after the takedown. There is also no recourse to have the removed information put-back or restored. The intermediary is under no obligation to provide a reasoned decision for rejecting or accepting a takedown notice. The Rules in their current form clearly tilt the takedown mechanism in favour of the complainant and adversely against the creator of expression. The research highlights the need to: (i) increase the safeguards against misuse of the privately administered takedown regime; (ii) reduce the uncertainty in the criteria for administering the takedown; (iii) reduce the uncertainty in the procedure for administering the takedown; (iv) include various elements of natural justice in the procedure for administering the takedown; and (v) replace the requirement for subjective legal determination by intermediaries with an objective test.
Download or read book The Responsibility of Online Intermediaries for Illegal User Content in the EU and the US written by Folkert Wilman and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2020-11-27 with total page 409 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Featuring foreword from Maciej Szpunar, First Advocate General at the Court of Justice of the European Union and Professor at the University of Silesia in Katowice This book delivers a comprehensive examination of the legal systems that regulate the responsibilities of intermediaries for illegal online content in both the EU and the US. It assesses whether existing systems are capable of tackling modern challenges, ultimately advocating for the introduction of a double-sided duty of care, requiring online intermediaries to do more to tackle illegal content whilst also better protecting their users’ rights.
Download or read book Protecting the right to freedom of expression under the European Convention on Human Rights written by Bychawska-Siniarska, Dominika and published by Council of Europe. This book was released on 2017-08-04 with total page 124 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: European Convention on Human Rights – Article 10 – Freedom of expression 1. Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers. This article shall not prevent States from requiring the licensing of broadcasting, television or cinema enterprises. 2. The exercise of these freedoms, since it carries with it duties and responsibilities, may be subject to such formalities, conditions, restrictions or penalties as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society, in the interests of national security, territorial integrity or public safety, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, for the protection of the reputation or rights of others, for preventing the disclosure of information received in confidence, or for maintaining the authority and impartiality of the judiciary. In the context of an effective democracy and respect for human rights mentioned in the Preamble to the European Convention on Human Rights, freedom of expression is not only important in its own right, but it also plays a central part in the protection of other rights under the Convention. Without a broad guarantee of the right to freedom of expression protected by independent and impartial courts, there is no free country, there is no democracy. This general proposition is undeniable. This handbook is a practical tool for legal professionals from Council of Europe member states who wish to strengthen their skills in applying the European Convention on Human Rights and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights in their daily work.
Download or read book Human Rights Law and Regulating Freedom of Expression in New Media written by Mart Susi and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- Notes on c ontributors -- 1 Introduction -- 2 Intermediary liability for online user comments under the European Convention on Human Rights -- 3 Freedom of speech and online media in Denmark -- 4 Estonia - raising high the roof beams of freedom of expression: New media environment in Estonia -- 5 Finland -- 6 Icelandic online media law and the ECHR -- 7 Regulation of online media in Latvia -- 8 Human rights law and regulating freedom of expression in new media: Lithuania -- 9 Regulation of online media in Norway -- 10 Internet, freedom of expression and the right to privacy in Sweden -- 11 Comparative analysis of the Nordic/Baltic approaches and standards -- 12 Updating freedom of expression doctrines in the new media cases: lessons from Strasbourg and other international treaty bodies -- Index
Download or read book Media Concentration and Democracy written by C. Edwin Baker and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2006-12-11 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Firmly rooting its argument in democratic and economic theory, the book argues that a more democratic distribution of communicative power within the public sphere and a structure that provides safeguards against abuse of media power provide two of three primary arguments for ownership dispersal. It also shows that dispersal is likely to result in more owners who will reasonably pursue socially valuable journalistic or creative objectives rather than a socially dysfunctional focus on the 'bottom line'. The middle chapters answer those agents, including the Federal Communication Commission, who favor 'deregulation' and who argue that existing or foreseeable ownership concentration is not a problem. The final chapter evaluates the constitutionality and desirability of various policy responses to concentration, including strict limits on media mergers.
Download or read book Intermediary Liability and Fundamental Rights written by Christophe Geiger and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This chapter of the Oxford Handbook of Online Intermediary Liability sets the stage for considering the tension between intermediary liability and fundamental rights with special emphasis on the European legal framework. Competing fundamental rights, such as freedom of expression, privacy, freedom of business and the right to property are entangled into the intermediary liability conundrum. Policy makers are still in search of a balanced and proportional fine tuning of online intermediaries' regulation that might address the miscellaneous interests of all stakeholders involved, with special emphasis on users' rights. In this context, the increasing reliance on automated enforcement technologies, which will be the topic of further review in multiple chapters throughout the Handbook, might set in motion dystopian scenarios where users' fundamental rights are heavily undermined.
Download or read book The Role of Internet Intermediaries in Advancing Public Policy Objectives written by OECD and published by OECD Publishing. This book was released on 2011-09-14 with total page 203 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents a comprehensive view of Internet intermediaries, their economic and social function, development and prospects, benefits and costs, and roles and responsibilities.
Download or read book Free Speech and Censorship Around the Globe written by Péter Molnár and published by Central European University Press. This book was released on 2015-02-01 with total page 562 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book focuses on regulatory challenges of creating and sustaining freedom of speech and freedom of information two decades after the fall of the Berlin wall, in global, comparative context. Some chapters overview, others address specific issues, or describe country case studies. Instead of trying to provide an exhaustive assessment which in one volume might not reach deeper analyzes of contextual details, this book will shed light on and help better understanding of general challenges for freedom of speech and information through varying comparative examples and highlighting important regulatory questions.
Download or read book Free Speech and the Regulation of Social Media Content written by Valerie C. Brannon and published by Independently Published. This book was released on 2019-04-03 with total page 50 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As the Supreme Court has recognized, social media sites like Facebook and Twitter have become important venues for users to exercise free speech rights protected under the First Amendment. Commentators and legislators, however, have questioned whether these social media platforms are living up to their reputation as digital public forums. Some have expressed concern that these sites are not doing enough to counter violent or false speech. At the same time, many argue that the platforms are unfairly banning and restricting access to potentially valuable speech. Currently, federal law does not offer much recourse for social media users who seek to challenge a social media provider's decision about whether and how to present a user's content. Lawsuits predicated on these sites' decisions to host or remove content have been largely unsuccessful, facing at least two significant barriers under existing federal law. First, while individuals have sometimes alleged that these companies violated their free speech rights by discriminating against users' content, courts have held that the First Amendment, which provides protection against state action, is not implicated by the actions of these private companies. Second, courts have concluded that many non-constitutional claims are barred by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, 47 U.S.C. § 230, which provides immunity to providers of interactive computer services, including social media providers, both for certain decisions to host content created by others and for actions taken "voluntarily" and "in good faith" to restrict access to "objectionable" material. Some have argued that Congress should step in to regulate social media sites. Government action regulating internet content would constitute state action that may implicate the First Amendment. In particular, social media providers may argue that government regulations impermissibly infringe on the providers' own constitutional free speech rights. Legal commentators have argued that when social media platforms decide whether and how to post users' content, these publication decisions are themselves protected under the First Amendment. There are few court decisions evaluating whether a social media site, by virtue of publishing, organizing, or even editing protected speech, is itself exercising free speech rights. Consequently, commentators have largely analyzed the question of whether the First Amendment protects a social media site's publication decisions by analogy to other types of First Amendment cases. There are at least three possible frameworks for analyzing governmental restrictions on social media sites' ability to moderate user content. Which of these three frameworks applies will depend largely on the particular action being regulated. Under existing law, social media platforms may be more likely to receive First Amendment protection when they exercise more editorial discretion in presenting user-generated content, rather than if they neutrally transmit all such content. In addition, certain types of speech receive less protection under the First Amendment. Courts may be more likely to uphold regulations targeting certain disfavored categories of speech such as obscenity or speech inciting violence. Finally, if a law targets a social media site's conduct rather than speech, it may not trigger the protections of the First Amendment at all.
