25 Mai 2022
Schlechte Umfragewerte für Chiles Verfassung
Die Verfassunggebende Versammlung in Chile befindet sich im Endspurt, bevor am 5. Juli 2022 der endgültige Vorschlag veröffentlicht werden muss. Doch die letzten Umfragen großer Meinungsforschungsinstitute zeigen seit einigen Wochen eine knappe Mehrheit, die gegen die neue Verfassung stimmen möchte. Das könnte vor allem an der gescheiterten Kommunikation der Verfassunggebenden Versammlung liegen. Continue reading >>
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12 Mai 2022
The War in Ukraine, Fake News, and the Digital Epistemic Divide
The ongoing war in Ukraine sheds light on crucial challenges of our digital media landscape. The social media-driven “(mis)information wars” surrounding the Russian invasion expose a growing epistemic divide running through liberal democracies. The regulatory focus on truth, with measures like fact-checking, serves little to cure the larger problems behind this. We should rather use the power of the law to devise new modes of intelligent speech regulation mimicking the functions formerly played by the centralized set-up of communication conditions. Continue reading >>
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16 November 2021
In Singapore’s war on fake news, the Constitution is not an obstacle
Singapore’s highest court has decided the first case under the city state’s controversial Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act. The whopping 154-page judgment finds key elements of the Act constitutional and establishes a test to determine the lawfulness of governmental correction notices. It also illustrates how the government’s insistence on factual accuracy pushes the courts to almost absurdly meticulous assessments, while being barred from asking the most significant questions. Continue reading >>
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07 September 2021
Fake-Strafrecht in Wahlkampfzeiten
Genügen die Aufklärung durch Staat und Medien, um den Gefahren zu begegnen, die gerade in Wahlkampfzeiten von Falschinformationen ausgehen? Der Umgang mit Fakes ist in der digitalisierten Gesellschaft eine große Herausforderung. Das Strafrecht erscheint jedoch kaum als geeignetes Instrument, um einer Beeinflussung des Wählerwillens entgegenzuwirken. Der Gesetzgeber sollte vor allem keine Fake-Strafgesetze schaffen, die vorspiegeln, etwas zur Bekämpfung reeller Probleme beizutragen, obwohl sie dies nicht leisten können. Continue reading >>07 Mai 2021
Soziale Netzwerke in der Grundrechts-Klemme?
Seit 2018 häufen sich Klagen, mit denen sich Nutzer dagegen wehren, dass ihre Beiträge auf sozialen Netzwerken wie Facebook gelöscht werden. Gegenteilig will die Grünen-Politikerin Renate Künast nun vor der Richterbank Facebook dazu zwingen, konsequent(er) gegen Falschmeldungen vorzugehen. Netzwerkbetreiber drohen so in eine Klemme zwischen Meinungsfreiheit und Persönlichkeitsschutz zu geraten. Continue reading >>
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13 April 2021
The rebirth of Malaysia’s fake news law – and what the NetzDG has to do with it
On 11 March 2021, the Government of Malaysia issued the Emergency (Essential Powers) (No. 2) Ordinance 2021. It criminalizes the dissemination of fake news related to COVID-19 and is an aggravated reincarnation of the country’s repealed Anti-Fake News Act of 2018. More importantly, from a German perspective, it continues the trend of anti-fake news legislation that is mistakenly associated with the German Network Enforcement Act, which has become the involuntary godmother of several such laws around the world, lending legitimacy to the global war on fake news. Continue reading >>
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13 November 2020
Abgang eines Jahrhundert-Bullshitters
Über Trump, über "On Bullshit" und über Bullshit Continue reading >>13 November 2020
Exit of the Bullshitter of the Century
On Trump, on "On Bullshit", and on Bullshit Continue reading >>
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03 November 2020
Confronting Misinformation During A Pandemic
A new report by The Freedom House tracks recent developments in internet-freedom and presents the “Pandemic’s Digital Shadow” on democratic values around the world. The report explains how governments worldwide used the covid-19 pandemic to limit access to information, expand their surveillance efforts, and intensify the balkanization of the internet. It raises the question what democracies should, and should not, do to confront the perils of misinformation. Continue reading >>19 Juli 2020
Undercutting Internet Governance in Brazil
On June 30, 2020, the Brazilian Senate approved Draft Bill No. 2.630 of 2020, also known as “The Fake News Bill”. This bill applies to internet platforms with over 2 million users and seeks to address the warranted concerns presented by the recent spread of online disinformation and defamatory content. As it currently stands, the bill does little to address the individuals and organizations who finance the spread of fake news across social media platforms in Brazil. It also poses threats to user privacy, access to the internet, and freedom of association. Continue reading >>
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