Online Publication Claims: an Introduction – Guy Vassall-Adams QC and Hugh Tomlinson QC

20 10 2017

The Internet has brought about a global communications revolution. An individual who wishes to communicate with others no longer needs a printing press or a broadcasting operation. Instead information can be communicated worldwide with a few keystrokes. Words, sounds, pictures or videos can, potentially, be communicated to the nearly 48% of the world’s population – 3.2 billion people – who are now estimated to use the internet (see ITU figures). Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Data Protection, Harassment, Internet, Libel, Privacy

Australia: “Heroic” or just plain risky? Twitter’s approach to proceedings backfires – Simon Johnson and Freda Chan

20 10 2017
Recent Court-ordered Twitter takedown involving an anonymous tweeter has some interesting lessons, particularly for “foreign” online platforms …  Simon Johnson and Freda Chan look at the judgment and its implications.

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Categories : Australia, Injunction, Internet, Social Media

Google v Duffy, No clear result in law applying to search engines – David Rolph

15 10 2017

The long-awaited decision from SA’s Full Supreme Court does little to clarify the perplexing issue of how a search engine is liable for defamation, writes Sydney University media law academic Professor David Rolph … The judgment raises more questions than it answers in relation to publication, intention and knowledge

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Categories : Australia, Internet, Libel

Problems with Filters in the European Commission’s Platforms Proposal – Daphne Keller

13 10 2017

Earlier I posted about the European Commission’s Communication on Illegal Content Online. I said it dangerously over-estimated the power of procedural mechanisms like counter-notice to get legal speech back online once platforms take it down. Read the rest of this entry »


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Counter-Notice does not fix over-removal of online speech – Daphne Keller

10 10 2017

The European Commission recently released a Communication on Tackling Illegal Content Online. It concludes that platforms have a responsibility to develop filtering technologies, in order to identify illegal content ranging from copyright infringement to hate speech. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Internet, Legal

Can taking down websites really stop terrorists and hate groups? -Thomas Holt, Joshua D Freilich and Steven Chermak

17 09 2017

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In the wake of an explosion in London on September 15, President Trump called for cutting off extremists’ access to the internet. Racists and terrorists, and many other extremists, have used the internet for decades and adapted as technology evolved, shifting from text-only discussion forums to elaborate and interactive websites, custom-built secure messaging systems and even entire social media platforms. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Freedom of expression, Internet, Social Media

The Daily Stormer, Online Speech, and Internet Registrars – Daphne Keller

25 08 2017

Most people I talk to think that Facebook, Twitter, and other social media companies should take down ugly-but-legal user speech. Platforms are generally applauded for taking down racist posts from the White Nationalist demonstrators in Charlottesville, for example. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Internet, Social Media

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