Keyword: Regulering

Microtargeted propaganda by foreign actors: An interdisciplinary exploration external link

Fahy, R., Dobber, T., Zuiderveen Borgesius, F. & Shires, J.
Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law, pp: 856-877, 2022

Abstract

This article discusses a problem that has received scant attention in literature: microtargeted propaganda by foreign actors. Microtargeting involves collecting information about people, and using that information to show them targeted political advertisements. Such microtargeting enables advertisers to target ads to specific groups of people, for instance people who visit certain websites, forums, or Facebook groups. This article focuses on one type of microtargeting: microtargeting by foreign actors. For example, Russia has targeted certain groups in the US with ads, aiming to sow discord. Foreign actors could also try to influence European elections, for instance by advertising in favour of a certain political party. Foreign propaganda possibilities existed before microtargeting. This article explores two questions. In what ways, if any, is microtargeted propaganda by foreign actors different from other foreign propaganda? What could lawmakers in Europe do to mitigate the risks of microtargeted propaganda?

EU law, frontpage, gegevensbescherming, microtargeting, propaganda, Regulering, Vrijheid van meningsuiting

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The Regulatory Landscape for Copyright Content Moderation: Evaluation and Future Trajectories external link

Quintais, J., Kowalewska Jahromi, H., Mezei, P., Priora, G., Reda, J., Riis, T., Schwemer, S. & Szkalej, K.
2021

Abstract

This webinar took place on 16 November 2021 and addressed the current status and future avenues for copyright content moderation in EU law, including a discussion on the rules on liability for online content-sharing service providers.

Auteursrecht, frontpage, Regulering

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Towards Unfair Political Practices Law: Learning lessons from the regulation of unfair commercial practices for online political advertising external link

Helberger, N., Dobber, T. & Vreese, C.H. de
JIPITEC, vol. 12, num: 3, pp: 273-296, 2021

Abstract

Online political advertising operates in a tense forcefield between political and commercial elements and thus presents regulators with a difficult conundrum: because online political advertising is political rather than commercial speech, it is destined to follow a different regulatory tradition than commercial advertising. And yet many of the tools used, players involved and concerns triggered by modern online political advertising strategies very much resemble the tools, players and concerns in online commercial targeting. Commercial advertising is subject to consumer law and unfair advertising regulation, including rules about unfair commercial practices. Unfair commercial practices law and other rules about commercial advertising, however, are explicitly not applicable to forms of non-commercial political or ideological advertising. An important reason why this is so is the different level of protection of political and commercial speech under fundamental rights law standards. And yet with the ongoing commercial turn in advertising, the traditional division between forms of commercial and political advertising is no longer that self-evident. Also, it cannot be denied that commercial advertising law has a long tradition of thinking of where and how to draw the line between lawful advertising and unlawful persuasion through withholding or misleading consumers about the information they need to take informed decisions, or abusing superior knowledge, exerting undue psychological pressure and engaging in other forms of unfair behaviour. The question this article explores is whether there are lessons to be learned from the regulation of commercial advertising for the pending initiatives at the national and the European level to regulate online political advertising, and online political targeting in specific.

frontpage, Grondrechten, Oneerlijke mededinging, Platforms, Regulering

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Regulation of news recommenders in the Digital Services Act: empowering David against the Very Large Online Goliath external link

Helberger, N., Drunen, M. van, Vrijenhoek, S. & Möller, J.
Internet Policy Review, 2021

Digital services act, frontpage, Mediarecht, news recommenders, Regulering

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Smartphone platforms as privacy regulators external link

van Hoboken, J. & Fahy, R.
Computer Law & Security Review, vol. 41, 2021

Abstract

A series of recent developments highlight the increasingly important role of online platforms in impacting data privacy in today's digital economy. Revelations and parliamentary hearings about privacy violations in Facebook's app and service partner ecosystem, EU Court of Justice judgments on joint responsibility of platforms and platform users, and the rise of smartphone app ecosystems where app behaviour is governed by app distribution platforms and operating systems, all show that platform policies can make or break the enjoyment of privacy by users. In this article, we examine these developments and explore the question of what can and should be the role of platforms in protecting data privacy of their users.

frontpage, Privacy, Regulering, smartphones

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Regulating Disinformation in Europe: Implications for Speech and Privacy external link

van Hoboken, J. & Fahy, R.
UC Irvine Journal of International, Transnational, and Comparative Law, vol. 6, num: 1, pp: 9-36, 2021

Abstract

This Article examines the ongoing dynamics in the regulation of disinformation in Europe, focusing on the intersection between the right to freedom of expression and the right to privacy. Importantly, there has been a recent wave of regulatory measures and other forms of pressure on online platforms to tackle disinformation in Europe. These measures play out in different ways at the intersection of the right to freedom of expression and the right to privacy. Crucially, as governments, journalists, and researchers seek greater transparency and access to information from online platforms to evaluate their impact on the health of their democracies, these measures raise acute issues related to user privacy. Indeed, platforms that once refused to cooperate with governments in identifying users allegedly responsible for disseminating illegal or harmful content are now expanding cooperation. However, while platforms are increasingly facilitating government access to user data, platforms are also invoking data protection law concerns as a shield in response to recent efforts at increased platform transparency. At the same time, data protection law provides for one of the main systemic regulatory safeguards in Europe. It protects user autonomy concerning datadriven campaigns, requiring transparency for internet audiences about targeting and data subject rights in relation to audience platforms, such as social media companies.

disinformatie, frontpage, Privacy, Regulering, Vrijheid van meningsuiting

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Mediated trust: A theoretical framework to address the trustworthiness of technological trust mediators external link

Bodó, B.
New Media & Society, 2020

Abstract

This article considers the impact of digital technologies on the interpersonal and institutional logics of trust production. It introduces the new theoretical concept of technology-mediated trust to analyze the role of complex techno-social assemblages in trust production and distrust management. The first part of the article argues that globalization and digitalization have unleashed a crisis of trust, as traditional institutional and interpersonal logics are not attuned to deal with the risks introduced by the prevalence of digital technologies. In the second part, the article describes how digital intermediation has transformed the traditional logics of interpersonal and institutional trust formation and created new trust-mediating services. Finally, the article asks as follows: why should we trust these technological trust mediators? The conclusion is that at best, it is impossible to establish the trustworthiness of trust mediators, and that at worst, we have no reason to trust them.

digitale technologie, frontpage, Informatierecht, Regulering, trust

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The legal framework on the dissemination of disinformation through Internet services and the regulation of political advertising external link

van Hoboken, J., Appelman, N., Fahy, R., Leerssen, P., McGonagle, T., van Eijk, N. & Helberger, N.
2020

Abstract

The study, commissioned by the Dutch government, focusses on the legal framework governing the dissemination of disinformation, in particular through Internet services. The study provides an extensive overview of relevant European and Dutch legal norms relating to the spread of online disinformation, and recommendations are given on how to improve this framework. Additionally, the study includes an analysis of the relevant legal framework in 6 different countries (U.K., U.S., France, Germany, Sweden and Canada). The report makes clear how the freedom of expression runs as a central theme through the legal framework, both forming the outer limit for possible regulation and a legal basis to create new regulation (e.g. protecting pluralism). The legal framework governing disinformation online is shown to be very broad, encompassing different levels of regulation, shifting depending on the context and already regulating many different types of disinformation. Further, oversight seems to be fragmented with many different supervisory authorities involved but limited cooperation. Based on this analysis, the report offers several recommendations, such as on the use of disinformation not as a legal term but a policy term, on negotiating the tensions on the different policy levels, on the regulation of internet intermediaries including transparency obligations and on increased cooperation between the relevant supervisory authorities. Previously, the interim report focussing on political advertising was published in late 2019. Both these studies have been carried out in the context of the research initiative on the Digital Transition of Decision-Making at the Faculty of Law of the University of Amsterdam, focussing on questions related to AI and public values, data governance and online platforms.

desinformatie, frontpage, internetdiensten, Mediarecht, politieke advertenties, Regulering, Vrijheid van meningsuiting

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Het juridisch kader voor de verspreiding van desinformatie via internetdiensten en de regulering van politieke advertenties external link

van Hoboken, J., Appelman, N., Fahy, R., Leerssen, P., McGonagle, T., van Eijk, N. & Helberger, N.
2020

Abstract

Het onderzoek, uitgevoerd in opdracht van het Ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken en Koninkrijksrelaties, analyseert het juridisch kader van toepassing op de verspreiding van desinformatie via online diensten. Het rapport biedt een uitgebreid overzicht van de relevante Europese en Nederlandse normen en doet aanbevelingen voor de verbetering van dit juridisch kader. Het onderzoek bevat daarnaast ook een analyse van het relevant wettelijke kader in de V.S., het V.K, Frankrijk, Duitsland, Canada en Zweden. Het rapport maakt duidelijk hoe de vrijheid van meningsuiting als rode draad door het wettelijke kader loopt. Dit fundamentele recht vormt zowel de buitenste grens voor regulering als een basis voor nieuwe maatregelen, bijvoorbeeld voor de bescherming van pluralisme. Het wettelijk kader van toepassing op desinformatie blijkt zeer breed, bevat verschillende reguleringsniveaus, verschuift afhankelijk van de specifieke context en omvat vele al bestaande normen voor de regulering van specifieke typen desinformatie. Verder blijkt het toezicht op dit wettelijk kader vrij gefragmenteerd te zijn. Op basis van deze analyse komt het rapport tot aan aantal aanbevelingen. De aanbevelingen hebben onder andere betrekking op het gebruik van de term desinformatie als beleidsterm, het omgaan met de spanningen op de verschillende beleidsniveaus, de regulering van internettussenpersonen door middel van transparantie verplichtingen en de samenwerking tussen de verschillende toezichthouders. Voorafgaand aan deze eindrapportage is in eind 2019 het interim-rapport gepubliceerd. Dit rapport focuste op de relatie tussen desinformatie en online politieke advertenties. Beide studies zijn onderdeel van het onderzoeksproject ‘Digital Transition of Decision-Making at the Faculty of Law of the University of Amsterdam’ dat zich buigt over vraagstukken gerelateerd aan kunstmatige intelligentie en publieke waarden, data governance, en online platforms.

democratie, desinformatie, frontpage, internetdiensten, Mediarecht, politieke advertenties, Regulering, Vrijheid van meningsuiting

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The Council of Europe and Internet Intermediaries: A Case Study of Tentative Posturing external link

McGonagle, T.
Chapter in: Human Rights in the Age of Platforms, ed. R.F. Jørgensen, Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2019., 2020, pp: 227-253, ISBN: 9780262039055

Council of Europe, intermediaries, Regulering, Vrijheid van meningsuiting

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