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Online Content Regulation in the Asia-Pacific: Limiting Civil Society’s Capacity to Hold Governments Accountable

Bangkog: Asia Centre (2024), v, 37 pp.

"Governments have updated penal codes and national security laws, enacted fake news and cybersecurity laws as well as laws that govern internet service providers and technology companies. These laws have widely been used to block and remove online content that call out blind spots in government poli ... cies and to intimidate and prosecute these content creators through hefty fines and jail time. Efforts to hold political office holders and government officials accountable for their policies are increasingly penalised. These government actions have significantly impacted civil society actors in numerous ways. First, individuals and organisations utilising the online sphere to hold government officials and policies accountable have come under intense scrutiny, resulting in the criminalisation of critics and the blocking and removal of online content deemed sensitive by state authorities. Second, the effectiveness of civil society in holding governments accountable is compromised, as state authorities routinely direct internet service providers and technology companies to block or remove online content considered sensitive or illegal. Consequently, individuals and organisations increasingly find their digital content at risk of being blocked or removed, succumbing to government directives to internet service providers and technology companies. This diminishes civil society’s calls for accountability. Third, on several instances, governments have imposed internet shutdowns - particularly during elections and politically sensitive periods - to disrupt the information flow. Ultimately, this has limited civil society’s ability to send and receive communications effectively to mobilise people to hold governments publicly accountable during politically important instances. Fourth, troll ng has surfaced as a mainstream strategy to harass and intimidate individuals and organisations who seek to hold governments accountable. Typically orchestrated by organised groups or cybertroopers, these digital attacks increasingly involve online hate speech directed at women who call out blindspots in government policies. Fifth, the ways of working of INGOs and CSOs have changed, leading many organisations to restrict the scope and assertiveness of their communications to shield themselves from government retribution and trolling. Some entities have opted to remove the visibility of their organisations, incorporating measures such as disallowing the use of their logos or the publishing of videos, photos and text by local partners in order to distance themselves from particular activities and contents of knowledge products. Given these developments, the principal recommendation is that key stakeholders, including international organisations, governments, ISPs and technology companies, and civil society actors, should recognise that criticism of government policies and officials is a legitimate activity and a vital form of expression for civil society. Hence, any measures, whether legal or non-legal, that interfere with or criminalise this legitimate activity should be rescinded or disallowed. Instead, measures should be put in place to ensure that civil society is empowered to call out the blind spots in government policies." (Executive summary) more

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Most "Fake News" Legislation Risks Doing More Harm than Good amid a Record Number of Elections in 2024

Technology & Innovation (CNTI) Center for News (2024), 18 pp.

"Legislation targeting “fake news” — a contested term used to reference both news and news providers that governments (or others) reject as well as disinformation campaigns — has increased significantly over the last few years, particularly in the wake of COVID-19. This study finds that even ... more

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Mapping Lies in the Global Media Sphere

Tirse Erbaysal Filibeli, Melis Öneren Özbek (eds.)

London; New York: Routledge (2024), 224 pp.

"This volume addresses the concept of “(in)nocent lies” in the media – beyond the concept of misleading information online, this extends to a deliberate effort to spread misinformation, disinformation and conspiracy theories – and proposes a critical approach to tackle the issue in related i ... more

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Censorship from Plato to Social Media: The Complexity of Social Media's Content Regulation and Moderation Practices

Gergely Gosztonyi

Cham: Springer (2023), xiv, 189 pp.

"In many countries, censorship, blocking of internet access and internet content for political purposes are still part of everyday life. Will filtering, blocking, and hacking replace scissors and black ink? This book argues that only a broader understanding of censorship can effectively protect free ... more

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Chilling Legislation: Tracking the Impact of “Fake News” Laws on Press Freedom Internationally

Gabrielle Lim, Samantha Bradshaw

Washington, DC: Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA) (2023), 20 pp.

"The proliferation of misinformation, disinformation, and mal-information (MDM) poses serious challenges to democracy, public safety, and national security. Conversely, these very worries could be used as a front for unjustified ends. There is a global trend toward legislation that may risk infringi ... more

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The Big Chill? How Journalists and Sources Perceive and Respond to Fake News Laws in Indonesia and Singapore

Andrea Carson, Andrew Gibbons

Journalism Studies, volume 24, issue 14 (2023), pp. 1819-1838

"Media freedom has deteriorated across the world over the past 15 years with populist leaders attacking journalism in both democratic and repressive states. Since the rise of online misinformation and disinformation, concern is growing that governments are using fake news language and related laws t ... more

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Social Media 4 Peace: Local Lessons for Global Practices

Adeline Hulin, João Brant

Paris: UNESCO (2023), 69 pp.

"The three countries [Bosnia and Herzegovina, Indonesia, and Kenya] provide evidence of online hate speech and disinformation affecting human rights offline. The evidence is not comprehensive yet clear enough to raise serious concerns. Online gender-based violence is also reported as critical in the ... more

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Platform Problems and Regulatory Solutions: Findings from a Comprehensive Review of Existing Studies and Investigations
Quick Overview

Guy Berger, Alison Gillwald, Elizabeth Orembo, Dominique Diouf, Juan Manual Garcia

Paris: UNESCO; Research ICT Africa (2023), 17 pp.

"The proliferation of hate speech and disinformation on online platforms has serious implications for human rights, trust and safety as per international human rights law and standards. The mutually-reinforcing determinants of the problems are: ‘attention economics’; automated advertising system ... more

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Brazilian Fake News Bill: Strong Content Moderation Accountability but Limited Hold on Platform Market Power

Tales Tomaz

Javnost: The Public, volume 30, issue 2 (2023), pp. 253-267

"This article analyses the Brazilian PL 2630, so-called “fake news bill,” according to platform regulation approaches focused on speech, data, and market power. This law project was introduced in 2020 with the objective to fight disinformation campaigns in digital platforms such as social media ... more

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Regulating Disinformation on Twitter and Facebook

Corinne Tan

Griffith Law Review, volume 31, issue 4 (2023), pp. 513-536

"The spread of disinformation in recent years has caused the international community concerns, particularly around its impact on electoral and public health outcomes. When one considers how disinformation can be contained, one often looks to new laws imposing more accountability on prominent social ... more

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The Alternative Truth Kept Hidden From Us: The Effects of Multimodal Disinformation Disseminated by Ordinary Citizens and Alternative Hyper-Partisan Media. Evidence From the US and India

Michael Hameleers, Darian Harff, Désirée Schmuck

Digital Journalism (2023), 22 pp.

"The affordances of social media potentially amplify the effects of disinformation by offering the possibility to present deceptive content and sources in credible and native ways. We investigate the effects of two aspects related to the dissemination and modality of digital disinformation: (In)auth ... more

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Regulating misleading political advertising on online platforms: An example of regulatory mercantilism in digital policy

Benjamin Farrand

Policy Studies, volume 45, issue 5 (2023), pp. 730–749

"Since its Joint Communication on Hybrid Threats, the EU has publicly recognized the risks to its security posed by non-traditional means aimed at undermining its legitimacy. The propagation of disinformation including misleading political advertising serves as a key example of how the Commission’ ... more

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Information Ecosystem Assessment (IEA) on the Impact of Cyber Security Cybercrime Laws enacted by Southern Africa Governments on Media Freedom and Digital Rights

Dianne Hubbard, Frederico Links

Advancing Rights in Southern Africa (ARISA); Internews; USAID (2023), 633 pp.

"In 2023, Advancing Rights in Southern Africa (ARISA) through its consortium partner, Internews, undertook the most comprehensive review yet of laws affecting media practice and the freedom of expression, including cyber laws, penal codes, constitutions and acts of parliament, in the sixteen Souther ... more

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Artificial Intelligence and Disinformation: State-Aligned Information Operations and the Distortion of the Public Sphere

Courtney Radsch

Vienna: OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (2022), 28 pp.

"In light of the role played by state-aligned actors, the private sector and lawmakers in countries with strong democratic institutions should adopt policies that mitigate the ability of state actors to manipulate AI and weaponize communication platforms. Efforts to combat disinformation must recogn ... more

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Regulation of Harmful Content Online in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Between Freedom of Expression and Harms to Democracy

Anida Sokol, Maja Calovic

Sarajevo: Mediacentar; UNESCO (2022), 108 pp.

"The study specifically focuses on five types of harmful content: a) hate speech and hate narratives; b) denials of war crimes and glorification of war criminals; c) ethno-nationally and/or politically biased media reporting; d) disinformation; and e) attacks, threats and smear campaigns against ind ... more

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User empowerment against disinformation online

Francisco Javier Cabrera Blázquez, Maja Cappello, Julio Talavera Milla, Sophie Valais

Strasbourg: European Audiovisual Observatory (2022), 66 pp.

"This publication describes the many ways in which public authorities and private enterprises empower users against disinformation online. The first chapter sets the scene by discussing relevant concepts, such as mis-, dis- and malinformation, empowerment, and media literacy. It further discusses th ... more

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Protecting the truth: Peace operations and disinformation

Monika Benkler, Annika S. Hansen, Lilian Reichert

Berlin: Center for International Peace Operations (2022), 18 pp.

"This study discusses how and to what extent peace operations are affected by digital disinformation and how international organisations (UN, EU, OSCE and NATO) as mandating bodies for peace operations have responded to limit the effect of disinformation or even prevent it. Based on this assessment ... more

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National Regulatory and Self-Regulatory Framework Against Hate Speech and Disinformation: Factsheet Bosnia and Herzegovina

Anida Sokol

Lubljana; Sarajevo: South East European Network for Professionalization of Media (SEENPM); Peace Institute; Mediacentar (2021), 29 pp.

"The legislative framework for the regulation of hate speech in BiH is fragmented and unaligned with European standards, and there are few cases of its processing. Ways to combat disinformation mainly rely on self-regulatory frameworks and fact-checking platforms, and there are no comprehensive stra ... more

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Fighting Fake News: A Study of Online Misinformation Regulation in the Asia Pacific

Andrea Carson

Melbourne: La Trobe University (2021), xvi, 117 pp.

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National Regulatory and Self-Regulatory Framework Against Hate Speech and Disinformation: Factsheet Montenegro

Milica Bogdanovic

Ljubljana: South East European Network for Professionalization of Media (SEENPM); Peace Institute; Montenegro Media Institute (2021), 19 pp.

"Competent institutions should react in case of spreading hate speech and introduce appropriate measures to combat the spread of disinformation, which would serve as a middle ground between arresting those who spread disinformation and a too passive approach to this problem. In addition to this, the ... more

Platform Problems and Regulatory Solutions: Findings from a Comprehensive Review of Existing Studies and Investigations Quick Overview

Platform Problems and Regulatory Solutions: Findings from a Comprehensive Review of Existing Studies and Investigations
Quick Overview