The moderation of extremist content is prone to error, causing real-world harm
In the mid-1990s, a questionable and now-debunked study from an undergraduate student about the prevalence of pornographic imagery online sparked a TIME Magazine cover story, leading to a Congressional...
View ArticleAthletes and the Human Right to Freedom of Expression
One of the most intricate rights in international human rights law (IHRL) is the right to freedom of expression (FoE). It is the only right in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights...
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Who is violating whom
Jan Böhmermann, for those who don’t know him, is the name of a well-known and widely admired comedian in Germany. Six years ago, in his show on national TV, he recited a „poem“ full of the most...
View ArticlePolitical Horse-Trading at High Costs
In July 2021, the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina Valentin Inzko used the last days of his term to criminalize genocide denial by decree. This move has sparked a prolonged political...
View ArticleNeutrality of the Olympic Movement and Freedom of Expression
The relationship between sports and neutrality belongs to the most hotly debated topics in international sports law. This blog post illustrates the application of the neutrality principle in practice...
View ArticleA Court of Last Resort
In a survey released by Reporters without Borders in 2021, India’s position in the Press Freedom Index significantly dropped to 142nd place out of 180 countries. While the Indian Broadcasting Ministry...
View ArticleThe Court of Arbitration for Sport’s Multifarious Views on Freedom of Expression
Dubbed as the ‘supreme court of world sport’, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (‘CAS’) is pivotal in interpreting and adjudicating cases involving freedom of expression in international sports. The...
View ArticleThe DSA’s Industrial Model for Content Moderation
In “On Exactitude in Science,” Jorge Luis Borges describes a map of such exquisite detail, it must be as large as the territory it depicts. Current policy proposals about platform content moderation –...
View ArticleThe EU’s “Ban” of RT and Sputnik
Denouncing Russian authorities‘ “muzzling“ of independent media and reiterating its support for media freedom and pluralism, the European Union “banned” two Russian media outlets in March 2022. This...
View ArticleAnti-terrorism regulation and the media in Uganda
For the past 10 years, Uganda has been characterized by insecurity and general instability, including in form of citizen demonstrations against President Yoweri Museveni’s government. Terrorist attacks...
View ArticleThe Hijab Ban in India has nothing to do with Secularism
In February 2022, educational institutions in the town of Udupi (in Karnataka, India) decided to ban the wearing of Hijabs by Muslim students in a college. This ban is unconstitutional. It is not in...
View ArticleDie Moderation von extremistischen Inhalten ist fehleranfällig und verursacht...
Mitte der 90er Jahre löste eine fragwürdige und inzwischen widerlegte Studie eines Studenten über die Verbreitung pornografischer Bilder im Internet eine Titelgeschichte im TIME Magazine aus, die zu...
View ArticleBetween Filters and Fundamental Rights
On 26 April 2022, the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU or Court) delivered its much awaited judgement in Case C-401/19 – Poland v Parliament and Council. The case focuses on the validity of Article 17...
View ArticleAccessing Information about Abortion
The U.S. Supreme Court decision of 24 June 2022 overruled a half century of precedent supporting a constitutional right to abortion across the U.S. established in 1973 in Roe v. Wade. Essentially,...
View ArticleThe Re-Emergence of the Net Neutrality Debate in Europe
The European online space has been subjected to intensive legal reforms in recent years, and the policy and regulatory debates regarding the role and obligations of tech companies in Europe are far...
View ArticleSex, God, and Blasphemy
Blasphemy used to be a grave offence once. Now, it is on the decline, making room for freedom of expression, which is so crucial in secular democratic societies. In its report on the relationship...
View ArticleArticulating Legitimacy through Policy Recommendations
On 6 December, Meta’s Oversight Board (OB) issued its policy advisory opinion on ‚cross-check‘, a content moderation system used by the company to avoid the erroneous removal of content shared by...
View ArticleTo Speak, or not to Speak
Several national football federations and their teams had planned to wear a rainbow armband (also called the “One-Love” armband) when entering the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which symbolizes solidarity...
View Article#DefendingTheDefenders – Episode 4: Turkey
In the fourth episode of #DefendingTheDefenders we talk about the situation of lawyers in Turkey with VEYSEL OK. He is an attorney in Istanbul and the Co-Director of the Media and Law Studies...
View ArticleOn the Road to Censorship
Freedom of expression is in peril in India. To be fair, the Indian Supreme Court has never been a devout protector of freedom of expression. When presented with the option, it has often leaned towards...
View ArticleFreeing Political Expression
The South Korean parliament is in the midst of an intensive debate on electoral reform. The current legislature aims to pass the revision of the Public Official Election Act (‘Election Act’) by 28th...
View ArticleStrong on Hate Speech, Too Strict on Political Debate
Online hate speech is a topic that has gained importance in recent years. In 2021, according to the report of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Verfassungsschutz), there were...
View ArticleA Plea for Proportionality
In recent months the burning of the Koran in Sweden has caused headlines and severe anger in many parts of the Muslim world as well as bewilderment in most of the EU as to why Sweden continues to...
View ArticleThe Ball is in the Game
In 2017, after the assassination of the Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) became an important topic on the EU level. As a result, the...
View ArticleLights, Camera, Inclusion?
On July 8th, 2024, the Supreme Court of India ruled in Nipun Malhotra v. Sony Pictures Films India, a case about a challenge to the screening of the movie “Aankh Micholi” for allegedly reinforcing...
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