Freedom of Expression
EU lawmakers take aim at ‘arbitrary’ decisions by Big Tech in Media Freedom Act vote
Mainstream social media platforms could face limits on their ability to take down independent journalism that violates their terms and conditions under a proposal agreed by European Union lawmakers yesterday.…
Changes are incoming to draft online safety legislation in the U.K. which continues to attract controversy over the impact on free speech. The draft Online Safety Bill has already been…
While the world continues to wonder what ‘free speech absolutist‘ and gadfly billionaire Elon Musk might mean for the future of Twitter, the European Union has chalked up an early…
The British parliament has invited Elon Musk to “discuss the future of Twitter” because we live in deeply wild times. If Musk agrees to speak to parliamentarians on the Digital,…
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Will Elon Musk put Twitter on a collision course with global speech regulators?
Elon Musk joked earlier this month that he hoped buying Twitter won’t be too painful for him. But the self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist” may indeed be inviting a world of pain for himself (and his wallet) if he sets the platform on a collision course with the growing mass of…
In the latest move by Russia to censor Western internet services since it started a war by invading Ukraine, Google has confirmed that Russians are having problems accessing its news…
Russia’s internet giant Yandex has told investors it’s exploring “strategic options” for its media products — including a potential sale of its news aggregator, Yandex News, and a user-generated content…
The U.K. is speeding up the application of powers that could see tech CEOs sent to prison if their businesses fail to comply with incoming safety-focused internet content legislation, the…
The UK government has announced (yet) more additions to its expansive and controversial plan to regulate online content — aka the Online Safety Bill. It says the latest package of…
Facebook, Instagram users can now ask ‘oversight’ panel to review decisions not to remove content
Facebook’s self-styled “Oversight Board” (FOB) has announced an operational change that looks intended to respond to criticism of the limits of the self-regulatory content-moderation decision review body: It says it’s…
Facebook loses final appeal in defamation takedown case, must remove same and similar hate posts globally
Austria’s Supreme Court has dismissed Facebook’s appeal in a long running speech takedown case — ruling it must remove references to defamatory comments made about a local politician worldwide for…
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How will EC plans to reboot rules for digital services impact startups?
There’s a chance for broader perspectives on platform power to shape the next decades online, and much more besides.
It’s more than four years since major tech platforms signed up to a voluntary pan-EU Code of Conduct on illegal hate speech removals. Yesterday the European Commission’s latest assessment of…
After applying a fact-checking label Tuesday to a misleading vote-by-mail tweet made by U.S. President Donald Trump, Twitter is on a roll and has labeled another of the president’s tweets —…
Sometimes it feels as if Internet platforms are turning everything upside down, from politics to publishing, culture to commerce, and of course swapping truth for lies. This week’s bizarro reversal was…
Google will be cheered by the view of an influential advisor to Europe’s top court vis-à-vis the territorial scope of the so-called ‘Right to be Forgotten.’ Since a 2014 Court…
You wouldn’t normally mention Egypt and Thailand in the same breath. But both countries underwent military coups within the last five years, and even among the many oppressive regimes in the…
The European Union’s executive body is doubling down on its push for platforms to pre-filter the Internet, publishing a proposal today for all websites to monitor uploads in order to…
Google’s lawyers are in Europe’s top court today arguing against applying the region’s so-called ‘right to be forgotten’ ruling globally domains, rather only geo-limiting delistings to European sub-domains (as it…
Wikipedia’s Italian and Spanish language versions have temporarily shut off access to their respective versions of the free online encyclopedia in Europe to protest against controversial components of a copyright…
The European Commission is still considering whether to regulate social media platforms to ensure they promptly remove illegal content — be it terrorist propaganda, child sexual exploitation or hate speech…
Facebook, Twitter, YouTube praised for “steady progress” quashing illegal hate speech in Europe
Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are likely to be breathing a little easier in Europe after getting a pat on the back from regional lawmakers for making “steady progress” on removing…
The European Union’s executive body is continuing to pressure social media firms to get better at removing illegal content from their platforms before it has a chance to spread further…
Legal representatives of the UK government faced a raft of questions today from judges sitting in the European Court of Human Rights hearing a challenge to intelligence agencies’ bulk collection…
A vote today by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has agreed to affirm an expanded resolution on online rights. Russia and China had tabled several amendments to the…
Back in 2004, one of the most well known members of the English House of Lords, Baroness Hale, stated that it is always difficult for the courts to make balanced…