Freedom of Expression in the Platform Society

Alexander Pirang

doi:10.1628/978-3-16-163963-0

Alexander Pirang

Freedom of Expression in the Platform Society

The Right to Freedom of Expression as a Constraint on Public Authorities' Power to Govern Online Speech Through Platform Companies

2024. 449 pages.

Internet und Gesellschaft (IuG) 38

DOI 10.1628/978-3-16-163963-0

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978-3-16-163963-0

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Summary

Can legislators launder state action through private companies by requiring online platforms to moderate content? Alexander Pirang asserts that platform users' right to freedom of expression imposes effective constraints on public authorities' power to regulate platform companies.

The Digital Services Act aims to tackle illegal online speech by delegating content moderation tasks to platform providers. However, this approach is blurring the boundaries between public and private restrictions of platform users' freedom of expression, which raises the question whether platform regulation allows legislators to launder state action through private companies. Alexander Pirang examines how the right to freedom of expression enshrined in the European Union's Charter of Fundamental Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights can function as a constraint on public authority power to regulate online platforms. Specifically, he analyzes how public authorities can be held responsible for speech restrictions enforced by platform providers. He also explores how such restrictions can be justified, with a focus on the necessary safeguards against the over-blocking of lawful content.

Table of contents:

Introduction
I. Setting the stage - II. Hypothesis and research questions - III. Research scope - IV. Research design - V. Conceptual clarification: governance and regulation

Chapter 1. First-order online speech governance: content moderation
I. What is content moderation? - II. What role does context play in content moderation? - III. To what extent does content moderation impact freedom of expression? - IV. How do different incentives and constraints influence platform companies' decision-making regarding content moderation? - V. Conclusion

Chapter 2. Second-order online speech governance: platform regulation
I. How has platform regulation evolved in the EU? - II. What are the rationales behind platform regulation? - III. How does platform regulation interact with other influences on platform companies' decision-making? - IV. How does platform regulation operate in practice? - V. Conclusion

Chapter 3. Third-order online speech governance: freedom of expression
I. To what extent does platform regulation allow public authorities to launder state action through platform companies' private ordering? - II. To what extent does the case law of the ECtHR and the CJEU on causation and attribution provide avenues for overcoming the risks of laundered state action in the context of platform regulation? - III. How can limitations of users' right to freedom of expression be established where public authorities require platform companies to moderate content? - IV. To what extent are public authorities obligated to minimize the risks of over-blocking in the context of platform regulation in order to justify limitations of users' right to freedom of expression? - V. Conclusion

Conclusion

Authors/Editors

Alexander Pirang Born 1989; law studies at Bucerius Law School, Hamburg and in Saint Petersburg; legal clerkship at the Berlin Court of Appeal; research associate at the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society; non-resident fellow with the Global Public Policy Institute; non-resident fellow with the Global Public Policy Institute; policy officer at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action; 2023 doctorate (University of Hamburg).