August 11, 2021
News
Canada Wants YouTube, TikTok to Prioritize Canadian Content
May 26, 2021
Canada wants to force YouTube, TikTok and other video- and audio-sharing sites to prominently feature more of the country’s artists, a move that digital-law experts and former government officials call
Harm Version 3.0: the draft Online Safety Bill
May 16, 2021
Two years on from the April 2019 Online Harms White Paper, the government has published its draft Online Safety Bill. It is a hefty beast: 133 pages and 141 sections
New laws requiring social media platforms to hire local staff could endanger employees
May 14, 2021
In an effort to gain greater control over social media platforms, governments around the world are enacting laws requiring that tech platforms appoint in-country representatives and store user data locally
Twitter censored tweets critical of India’s handling of the pandemic at its government’s request
April 24, 2021
Twitter has removed more than 50 tweets critical of the Indian government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, and did so at the request of the Indian government. First reported by
Israeli Supreme Court green lights Israel's 'Cyber Unit' that works with social media giants to censor user content
April 12, 2021
Court authorizes Cyber Unit to continue operating in the shadows, conducting quasi-judicial censorship without allowing social media users to defend their rights or even to know that the state has
Six months in, Biden must speed progress on digital rights
July 20, 2021
Six months ago, as the pandemic raged, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris became President and Vice President of the United States. On inauguration day, we launched the U.S. Digital Rights
Challenges in Combating Terrorism and Extremism Online
July 11, 2021
Terrorists and other bad actors exploit a variety of social media platforms, taking advantage of their different capabilities and trying to find weak areas in which they can operate. Social
Donald Trump files sweeping, nonsensical lawsuits against Facebook, Twitter, and Google
July 7, 2021
Former President Donald Trump has filed proposed class action lawsuits against Facebook, Twitter, and Google subsidiary YouTube as well as CEOs Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey, and Sundar Pichai. The lawsuits
On the trail of the Person of Ordinary Sensibilities
June 28, 2021
One of the more perplexing provisions of the draft Online Safety Bill is its multi-level definition of legal but harmful content (lawful but awful content, to give it its colloquial
Overview of Transparency Obligations for Digital Services in the DSA
June 18, 2021
The draft Digital Services Act (DSA) Regulation presents multiple layers of transparency and accountability obligations that differ depending on the type of service concerned. There are a few obligations that
CJEU rules on platform liability under copyright law, safe harbours, and injunctions
June 22, 2021
Do platforms like YouTube and cyberlocker Uploaded directly perform copyright-restricted acts under Article 3 of the InfoSoc Directive? At what conditions is the hosting safe harbour under Article 14(1) of
IT Rules Flout Intl Human Rights Norms, Says UN Experts; 'Misplaced Concern,' Says India
June 20, 2021
Special Rapporteurs from the United Nations have written to India noting that the government’s new IT Rules go against international human rights norms in their current form. India’s response contends
Vietnam introduces nationwide code of conduct for social media
June 17, 2021
Vietnam introduced national guidelines on social media behaviour on Friday which encourage people to post positive content about the Southeast Asian country and require state employees to report "conflicting information"
Amplification and Its Discontents
July 28, 2021
Daphne Keller, director of platform regulation at the Stanford Cyber Policy Center, pens an essay about regulating the reach of online content: "In this essay, I will lay out why
Twitter restricts accounts in India to comply with government legal request
June 7, 2021
Twitter disclosed on Monday that it blocked four accounts in India to comply with a new legal request from the Indian government. The American social network disclosed on Lumen Database
European Commission back-tracks on user rights in Article 17 Guidance
June 4, 2021
The European Commission has published its long overdue guidance on the application of art. 17 of the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market (CDSMD), a mere three days
Terrorists are hiding where they can’t be moderated
May 31, 2021
Most designated terrorist organisations have long since abandoned mainstream social media in favour of alternative platforms or self-developed technologies that rely on decentralisation and enhanced levels of encryption. The most
Article 12 DSA: Will platforms be required to apply EU fundamental rights in content moderation decisions?
May 31, 2021
While platforms currently have no obligation to incorporate fundamental rights into their terms of service, an important provision in the EU’s proposed Digital Services Act (DSA), may potentially go some
The new DSA - when freedom of expression is worth overdoing
May 27, 2021
The eagerly awaited Digital Services Act (DSA) aims to provide for a safer and more transparent online environment for millions of Europeans. In many aspects, this is a very progressive
Some Humility About Transparency
March 19, 2021
Researchers and public interest advocates around the world can agree that more transparency regarding platform content moderation is better. But, aside from people with very particular areas of interest (like
AG Øe advises CJEU to rule that Article 17 is COMPATIBLE with the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and should not be annulled
July 15, 2021
Is Article 17 of Directive 2019/790 (DSMD) compatible with the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, notably its Article 11 and the principle of freedom of expression and information? According to
Under pressure, Iranian MPs postpone internet restriction bill
July 26, 2021
Iran’s parliament has suspended its review of a highly controversial bill that a minister, citizens and businesses say will only lead to more internet restrictions in the country. The bill