"This article examines Russia’s practice of the ban introduced by the so-called ‘fake news laws’ during the war against Ukraine. It blends doctrinal legal with discourse analysis to study how and why Russian courts have applied the laws, which epistemology of knowledge they have constructed wh
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ile limiting fake news about the war and what implications this has for freedom of expression and public debate of the war within Russia. The dataset covers 446 Russian court decisions from 2022 to 2023. A historical approach is utilised to discuss the results in connection to the Soviet Communist ideology. The article argues that Russian courts have used the laws to make truth in Russia conditional and loyalty unconditional, actualising the Soviet principles of ‘partyness’, ‘objectivity’ and ‘scientificalness’. It demonstrates how courts construct a mythologised reality about the ‘imaginary’ ‘military operation’ to help the government monopolise the public debate and misrepresent the war against Ukraine within Russia." (Abstract)
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"Columbia Global Freedom of Expression seeks to strengthen freedom of expression worldwide by advancing the understanding of international and national norms and institutions that best protect the free flow of information and expression in an interconnected global community. We do so by sharing know
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ledge and standards through our Global Database of Freedom of Expression Case Law and by fostering dialogue among domestic, regional, international courts and other important stakeholders responsible for protecting freedom of expression." (Mission)
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"This edition of the Special Collection on the Case Law of Freedom of Expression: Case law on content moderation and freedom of expression is an update of the 2023 Special Collection on content moderation and freedom of expression. It includes cases that have been added to the database in the period
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from July 2023 to August 2024. These new cases include jurisprudence from Brazil, regional European courts, Germany, Japan, India, Italy, the Netherlands, and the United States of America. The cases show a variety of court decisions on content moderation in different parts of the world. In particular, many new decisions about the moderation of (health) misinformation were added to the database. Thus, a new section dedicated to claims requesting the reinstatement of content or accounts, that were removed for allegedly violating misinformation policies, was added (Section II.1.c). Certainly, content moderation reflects current tensions in society. For example, most of the misinformation cases that deal with the falsehood of objective information concern health information during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cases about wrong—and often defamatory—information about individuals are not classified as “misinformation” cases for the purposes of this paper. They are part of a more general section about the removal or reinstatement of content, considering they are at the core of what content moderation has been dealing with for decades. While the law of many jurisdictions around the world penalizes defamation to some (strongly varying) degree, the issue of whether “merely” objectively wrong information should be unlawful is more contested. Thus, the balancing exercises of courts around the world—when dealing with private content moderation decisions in this realm—provide valuable insights." (Introduction)
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"De hecho, según los últimos datos del Ministerio del Interior3 en 2022 se presentaron 954 denuncias por delitos sexuales cibernéticos4 que tenían como víctima a un niño, niña o adolescente, de las cuales 64,6% eran chicas. Las denuncias que tienen como víctima a la infancia y adolescencia r
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epresentan el 84% del total de este tipo de delitos. Así, como veíamos en nuestro informe “Violencia viral” tener entre 10 y 17 años y ser niña o chica adolescente aumenta la vulnerabilidad ante los delitos cibernéticos. Por ello, hemos querido reflejar también el abuso sexual infantil en internet, conocido como online grooming. Por todo ello, hemos analizado 33 sentencias5 correspondientes a 61 casos que corresponden a online grooming y hemos visto algunas diferencias respecto al abuso sexual infantil "físico." (Introducción)
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"1. Consideration should be given at an early stage of an investigation whether there are connections between the victim’s journalistic activities and the crimes committed against them. 2. Investigators should be given specific training around the issues and challenges faced in investigating crime
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s against journalists. 3. Journalistic sources are confidential and should be treated as such at every stage of the investigation and judicial proceedings. Authorities must take all possible measures to ensure the protection of journalistic material/confidential data that may lead to the identification of sources. 4. Consideration should be given to the creation of specialist units or teams dedicated to investigating and prosecuting crimes against journalists. 5. Investigators may benefit from cooperation and liaison with other investigative forces, notably transnational ones and specialist units, who may be able to provide specialist technical expertise. 6. While the role of law enforcement agents, including forensic investigators, differs according to their investigative jurisdiction, it is important that international good practice regarding the investigation of cases involving journalists applies. 7. Investigations into crimes against journalists must be effective, thorough, impartial, independent and prompt. When possible, information on the investigation should be provided to the public through the media in an open and transparent manner, and taking care to avoid prejudicing the investigation or breaching court orders. 8. In cases where there are credible allegations of the involvement of State agents in crimes against journalists, investigations should be carried out by an authority outside the jurisdiction, or sphere of influence of those authorities." (Summary of key recommendations)
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"The general objective of this Model Protocol is to serve as a reference in the development or updating of intervention and interaction protocols for security forces regarding the media, in accordance with international standards on freedom of expression, access to information and safety of journali
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sts. The Model Protocol will also serve the media and civil society organizations to promote good practices between the police and the press, and to contribute to improving the safety of journalists in the region, with an emphasis on differential risk assessment and specific protective measures for women journalists. Finally, this Model can serve as a pedagogical tool for police academies, as well as for journalism or communication schools. The Model Protocol covers three of the areas of interaction that generally exhibit higher stress levels: (1) the interaction of security forces with journalists in social protest contexts; (2) investigations of crimes by security forces and access to information by the press; and (3) the threats and other attacks on the press, as well as the responses by security forces to prevent and investigate these actions with a gender perspective." (Introduction, page 7)
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"Journalists play an important role in promoting and facilitating the right to freedom of expression. To promote and facilitate freedom of expression effectively, they should be free to perform their duties without fear of reprisals, intimidation or harassment. Journalists should carry out their dut
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ies in a legally safe environment. It has, however, been observed that journalists across the world are subjected to various human rights violations and abuses aimed at hindering them in performing their work. Journalists in Botswana also endure harassment and intimidation. One form in which this harassment manifests itself is through the use of sedition laws. In many countries these laws have been found to limit the right to freedom of expression unjustifiably. The legality of sedition laws has been considered by the courts of Botswana, where the High Court upheld their constitutionality. This note critically analyses the High Court's decision." (Abstract)
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"Human rights, the rule of law and democracy are interlinked and mutually reinforcing. Within the framework of international human rights law, the right to freedom of expression particularly stands out, as it constitutes a pre-requisite for the fulfilment of other fundamental rights. In this regard,
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as ‘guardian of the rule of law’, the judiciary plays a particularly important role in guaranteeing the respect for the fundamental right to freedom of expression and its corollaries, access to information and the safety of journalists. To do so, however, judicial actors need to be well versed on freedom of expression challenges (both online and offline), and knowledgeable about the related international standards and regional jurisprudence. To share best practices and lessons learnt in this regard, this essay will be structured in two parts: first, it will discuss the crucial role of an independent judiciary in protecting the rights to freedom of expression and access to information, while falling under the obligation to act in full transparency itself. Second, it will present an in-depth analysis of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)’s Judges’ Initiative, presenting the concrete experience of a United Nations’ body engaging with its constituents. At the heart of this endeavor is the goal of enhancing the international human rights legal framework, by raising, in full cooperation with them, the knowledge an capacities of judicial actors from around the world on the need to protect and promote freedom of expression, access to information, and the safety of journalists to guarantee the respect for human rights, democracy, and the rule of law." (Abstract)
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