Understanding Pakistan's 2020 Social Media Rules: Suppression of Constitutional Right to Freedom of Expression Through Prior Restraint Censorship of Online Content

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Faisal Daudpota
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Online Content ◽  
Constitutional Right ◽  
Prior Restraint

scholarly journals No amount of “AI” in content moderation will solve filtering’s prior-restraint problem

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 205395172092068
Author(s):  
Emma J Llansó
Keyword(s):  
Hate Speech ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
International Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Online Content ◽  
Content Filtering ◽  
Policy Debates ◽  
Proactive Measures ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Prior Restraint

Contemporary policy debates about managing the enormous volume of online content have taken a renewed focus on upload filtering, automated detection of potentially illegal content, and other “proactive measures”. Often, policymakers and tech industry players invoke artificial intelligence as the solution to complex challenges around online content, promising that AI is a scant few years away from resolving everything from hate speech to harassment to the spread of terrorist propaganda. Missing from these promises, however, is an acknowledgement that proactive identification and automated removal of user-generated content raises problems beyond issues of “accuracy” and overbreadth--problems that will not be solved with more sophisticated AI. In this commentary, I discuss how the technical realities of content filtering stack up against the protections for freedom of expression in international human rights law. As policymakers and companies around the world turn to AI for communications governance, it is crucial that we recall why legal protections for speech have included presumptions against prior censorship, and consider carefully how proactive content moderation will fundamentally re-shape the relationship between rules, people, and their speech.

Freedom of information, right to express and social media in India

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 94-104
Author(s):  
Meera Mathew
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Information Dissemination ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Freedom Of Information ◽  
Right To Know ◽  
The Public ◽  
Media Technologies ◽  
Constitutional Right ◽  
The Right

People's right to know, to hold opinions, right to access, to seek and receive information, as well as to disseminate and impart ideas, despite frontiers, are protected under all democratic nations' constitutional right of freedom of expression. This duty to inform and disseminate news is undoubtedly the responsibility vested with media as the fourth estate and as a watchdog thereby enabling it to exert due checks and monitors on the working of the nation. By this, it mandates a strong, independent and adequately resourced media to operate in order to serve the general public interest and to place and keep up high standards of journalism. With the changing notions of media and with the prevalence of social media and interactive entertainment platforms, where users write the content, edit the same and disseminate it to the public, the question arises if social media does indeed actually function as ‘media’ as envisioned by our constitutional drafters. Disseminating information accurately to the public is a sacrosanct duty and if such a duty gets affected, the edifice of democracy is devastated. From the traditional media having reliance on what had been circulated, it moved to a system where the ordinary citizen has the capability to manage media technologies and notify own stories creating trends more for a business purpose. This change as named as media-morphosis has also crushed the right to be informed accurately. Against this backdrop, this article addresses the rising frequency of disinformation ‒ occasionally indicated as ‘misinformation’ or ‘fake news’ in social media, inflamed by both states and non-state stakeholders, plus the diverse issues to which they perhaps are a causative part or key source. It also critically evaluates the obligation states have to enable a conducive environment for freedom of expression that comprise encouraging and defending diverse media however, simultaneously, to curtail any sort of misinformation being disseminated to its people. As is evident from the title of this article, the jurisprudential aspects of freedom of information vis-a-vis the freedom to disseminate are examined where the primary examination focus is on – if media that is used to keep a watchful eye on the dealings of government and act as a champion of the public's right to know, has departed from this constitutional duty with the emergence of social media. Moreover, the nexus between ‘contours of expression to disseminate the information’ and ‘extent of limitations as to such information dissemination’ will be analysed. To illustrate, Indian legal framework is used and applied. In its conclusion the author endeavours to question the unwarranted benefit social media enjoys as ‘intermediary’ and as ‘media’ thereby ponders if the current Indian legal framework is adequate to deal with the ramifications.

Governing Fake News: The Regulation of Social Media and the Right to Freedom of Expression in the Era of Emergency

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-41
Author(s):  
Donato VESE
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Public Law ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Right ◽  
Media Censorship

Governments around the world are strictly regulating information on social media in the interests of addressing fake news. There is, however, a risk that the uncontrolled spread of information could increase the adverse effects of the COVID-19 health emergency through the influence of false and misleading news. Yet governments may well use health emergency regulation as a pretext for implementing draconian restrictions on the right to freedom of expression, as well as increasing social media censorship (ie chilling effects). This article seeks to challenge the stringent legislative and administrative measures governments have recently put in place in order to analyse their negative implications for the right to freedom of expression and to suggest different regulatory approaches in the context of public law. These controversial government policies are discussed in order to clarify why freedom of expression cannot be allowed to be jeopardised in the process of trying to manage fake news. Firstly, an analysis of the legal definition of fake news in academia is presented in order to establish the essential characteristics of the phenomenon (Section II). Secondly, the legislative and administrative measures implemented by governments at both international (Section III) and European Union (EU) levels (Section IV) are assessed, showing how they may undermine a core human right by curtailing freedom of expression. Then, starting from the premise of social media as a “watchdog” of democracy and moving on to the contention that fake news is a phenomenon of “mature” democracy, the article argues that public law already protects freedom of expression and ensures its effectiveness at the international and EU levels through some fundamental rules (Section V). There follows a discussion of the key regulatory approaches, and, as alternatives to government intervention, self-regulation and especially empowering users are proposed as strategies to effectively manage fake news by mitigating the risks of undue interference by regulators in the right to freedom of expression (Section VI). The article concludes by offering some remarks on the proposed solution and in particular by recommending the implementation of reliability ratings on social media platforms (Section VII).

scholarly journals Dignity, religion and freedom of expression in South Africa

2011 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacobus C.W. Van Rooyen
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Sense Of Self ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
National Pride ◽  
Form Part ◽  
Self Worth ◽  
Constitutional Right ◽  
The Republic

The issue that this article dealt with is whether, in South African law, speech that infringes upon the religious feelings of an individual is protected by the dignity clause in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa. The Constitution, as well as the Broadcasting Code, prohibits language that advocates hatred, inter alia, based on religion and that constitutes incitement to cause harm. Dignity, which is a central Constitutional right, relates to the sense of self worth which a person has. A Court has held that religious feelings, national pride and language do not form part of dignity, for purposes of protection in law. The Broadcasting Complaints Commission has, similarly, decided that a point of view seriously derogatory of ‘Calvinistic people’ blaming (some of) them as being hypocritical and even acting criminally is not protected by dignity. It would have to be accompanied by the advocacy of hatred as defined previously. The author, however, pointed out that on occasion different facts might found a finding in law that religion is so closely connected to dignity, that it will indeed be regarded as part thereof.

scholarly journals Youth perspective on social media discourse on “Lazy Nigerian Youths” conversations

INFORMASI ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-122
Author(s):  
Nkiru Comfort Ezeh ◽  
Augustine Godwin Mboso
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Political Communication ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Media Discourse ◽  
Focus Group Discussions ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
The Social ◽  
Youth Perspective

The Social Media has emerged as a new platform for discourses. It has no doubt provided people with easier and faster accessibility to information and has become an outlet for them to share their views on socio-political issues. It has also been observed that negative and hate comments seem to dominate on social networks used for social and political communication. Anchored on Public Sphere Theory, focus group discussions were conducted with undergraduate youths in South-east Nigeria examined on the issue of President Mohammadu Buhari’s referring to Nigerian youths as lazy, while speaking at the Commonwealth Business Forum in Westminster on 18th April 2018. This article, therefore, explored the opinions advanced in the discourse based on the principles of freedom of expression and responsibility. The study suggests that while Twitter platform was more objective in the discussion of the issue of the day because it allows the use of filters to ensure that contents posted on the platform adhere strictly to rules and fair usage; Facebook and Whatsapp trailed with abuses and hate comments. The study recommended that owners of blogs and media houses who now post their contents on the social media should coordinate comments on such platforms and continue developing mechanisms that work to regulate the quality of posted content.

scholarly journals USE OF CYBER HATE IN THE ELECTORAL CAMPAIGNS BY THE MAINSTREAM POLITICAL PARTIES OF PAKISTAN

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 325-332
Author(s):  
Ayesha Siddiqua
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Hate Speech ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
The Political ◽  
Electoral Campaigns ◽  
General Elections ◽  
Cyber Ethics

Purpose of the study: The purpose of the study is to examine the use of cyber hate by the Pakistan’s mainstream political parties. The issue of poll rigging in Pakistan’s General Elections 2013 is examined through discourse analysis of the related tweets. The study also aims at comprehending the extent to which cyber ethics were violated during the digital electoral campaigns. Methodology: Discourse Analysis of the tweets generated from the official Twitter handles of PTI and PMLN leaders was conducted to examine the use of cyber hate by the Pakistan’s mainstream political parties. Violation of cyber ethics was explored through the qualitative interviews of 8 purposively selected social media managers of PMLN, PPP, and PTI. Main Findings: The findings indicated that party leadership/politicians used the elements of cyber hate which included abusive language, provocation, and character assassination against their opponents during the digital electoral campaign in general and regarding the poll rigging issue of Pakistan’s General Elections 2013 in specific. Resultantly the tweets using strong adjectives and metaphors on the political opponents were more frequently re-tweeted and attracted more favorites. Applications of this study: The study can be helpful in various cross-disciplinary areas that focus on the examination of the usage and impact of social media and cyberspace as a medium for hate speech dissemination. The study can significantly contribute to areas related to cyber ethics, digital electoral campaigning, freedom of expression, and political opinion building. Novelty/Originality of this study: The study’s originality lies in its attempt to unfold the foundations of digital electoral campaigning in Pakistan and how cyberhate was used as a pivotal tool for advancing the political narratives in a fragile democratic society.

scholarly journals GRAMMAR-NAZI ANALYSIS IN ENGLISH LEARNING PROCESS AMONG MILLENIALS IN INDONESIA

JURNAL BASIS ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 41
Author(s):  
Eunike Imanuela Soehendro ◽  
Ika Wuri Septiani ◽  
Zhafira Zhafarina ◽  
Jumanto Jumanto
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Research Process ◽  
English Learning ◽  
Main Function ◽  
Grammatical Errors ◽  
Special Value ◽  
Open Coding ◽  
Axial Coding ◽  
Learning English

Social media, which was originally used to communicate with other people via online, has begun to be used to exchange knowledge so that it makes it easy for many people to learn more flexibly and without boundaries. Indonesian people are more motivated to learn and practice English through social media, considering that the ability to speak English is a special value when applying to job. However, the main function of social media itself, namely the freedom of expression and opinion, is also an inhibiting factor in learning English. Lots of social media users seem to be less wise in their opinions, especially on grammar issues and do not hesitate to criticize grammatical errors in English posts. The term grammar-nazi is usually attached to these people who tend to correct the grammar. This is the main focus of researchers to conduct grammar-nazi analysis in the process of learning English among millennials in Indonesia which is carried out online. Our research process includes data collection through observation, open coding techniques, axial coding, selective coding, synthesis of results, drawing conclusions, and providing suggestions. Some opinions such as Lauren & Connie (2005) and Mohd Amin et al.  (2016) in their research provides an overview of the responses of users who showed a positive  with this phenomenon. Meanwhile, research by James E. Carroll (2016) and Sherman & Jaroslav (2014) shows a negative response disagreeing with this phenomenon. The results of this study are expected to be able to provide a sufficient account on grammar-nazi phenomenon in the process of learning English among millennials in Indonesia.

scholarly journals FIKIH MEDIA SOSIAL DI INDONESIA

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 202-225
Author(s):  
Nurul Istiani ◽  
Athoillah Islamy
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Islamic Law ◽  
Code Of Ethics ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Codes Of Ethics ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Main Basis ◽  
Use Of Social Media

This study aims to reveal the philosophical values of Islamic law in the three ethical codes of NetizMu Muhammadiyah. This research is a literature review. The type of Islamic legal research in this study is a philosophical normative Islamic law research with an Islamic legal philosophy approach. The primary data source of this research, namely the NetizMU Muhammadiyah code of ethics), and secondary data using various relevant scientific researches. The theory used is a systems philosophy approach in Islamic law initiated by Jasser Auda.. This study concludes that there are values ​​of Islamic law philosophy in the three NetizMU codes of ethics. First, the value of religious protection (hifz al-din) in the context of making the prophetic social values ​​of religion the main basis for the code of ethics for the use of social media. Second, the value of public benefit (al-maslahat al-ammah) in the code of ethics for the use of social media as a medium for humanization (amar makruf) and liberation (nahi munkar). Third, the value of intellectual protection (hifz al-'aql) in the context of a code of ethics limiting freedom of expression, both in the form of information and communication on social media.

scholarly journals Cyber-Attacks and Freedom of Expression: Coercion, Intimidation and Virtual Occupation

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 116-133
Author(s):  
Joe Burton
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Cyber Security ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Psychological Impact ◽  
Cyber Attacks ◽  
Electoral Process ◽  
Media Reporting ◽  
Information Domain ◽  
Political Disputes

AbstractThis article explores how cyber-attacks affect freedom of expression. It begins by outlining the literature on cyber coercion and exploring other conceptions of how offensive cyber operations have been used to shape adversary behaviour, including efforts to intimidate through cyberspace, and the concept of ‘cyber swaggering’. The article moves on to explore how cyber-attacks have been used to undermine electoral process, to erode free and fair media reporting, and how manipulation of social media can constitute a ‘virtual infiltration’ and ‘virtual occupation’ of the information domain. The article then explores how cyber-attacks conducted during the conflict in Ukraine have limited or otherwise affected freedom of expression. I argue that the wider effects of cyber operations on political, civil and human rights have been underexplored in the cyber security literature; that cyber-attacks have adversely affected freedom of expression in the conflict in Ukraine and in other political disputes; and that the coercion concept is ill-suited to accounting for the socio-psychological impact of modern cyber operations.

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