The crisis of the twenty-six words that founded the internet
By Lucas Anastácio Mourão, partner at Flora, Matheus & Mangabeira Sociedade de Advogados. The legal solutions devised to combat problems, as they arise with each new period and context, often seem definitive at the time of their conception. Yet as technologies and behaviours evolve over time, so must our legal responses change and adapt. The […]
A crise das vinte e seis palavras que fundaram a internet
Lucas Anastácio Mourão, sócio do Flora, Matheus & Mangabeira Sociedade de Advogados. Os problemas apresentados por cada contexto e cada época refletem um dado tipo de solução jurídica que, embora geralmente pareça definitiva no momento de sua concepção, muda e se adapta através do tempo de acordo com as tecnologias disponíveis e também com os […]
Are fake news laws the best way to tackle disinformation?
This month, Greece joined a growing list of countries legislating against fake news. The approved amendment to the Penal code aims to prosecute Greek citizens who spread false information during the COVID-19 pandemic. Any citizen spreading false information about public health could face up to 5 years of imprisonment. This move, along with others like […]
Explaining the Issues: Intermediary Liability
In our Explaining the Issues series, we explain legal issues faced by the media – this instalment covers intermediary liability. What is an internet intermediary? Defining what an ‘intermediary’ is can be challenging, because the term is broad and constantly evolving. The Council of Europe suggests intermediaries are service providers who enable communication to take […]
Explaining the Issues: The Right to be Forgotten
In Media Defence’s Explaining the Issues series, we provide an overview of legal issues faced by the media. See other blogs in the series here. What is the right to be forgotten and where does it apply? The so called right to be forgotten, also described as the right to be delisted, or the right to […]
Explaining the Issues: Internet Shutdowns
In Media Defence’s Explaining the Issues series, we provide an overview of legal issues faced by the media. See other blogs in the series here. What are Internet shutdowns? Around the world, repressive governments often disrupt or ‘shut down’ Internet services in their countries in order to prevent members of the general public from accessing […]
Explaining the Issues: False News
We have previously looked at how criminal libel and national security laws are increasingly being used to silence journalists. The third, and lesser known, law that is also used in this way is the criminalisation of publishing “false news”. What are false news laws? False news laws were first enacted in England in 1275 and came into […]
Explaining the Issues: National Security
The reporting of stories relating to national security has been a concern for governments around the world for many years, but since 9/11 there has been a dramatic increase in the number of cases against journalists pursued in the name of national security. How do national security laws impact on journalism? There has always […]
Explaining the Issues: Sedition
While it’s rare to be prosecuted for it in western democracies, Peter Noorlander, MLDI’s CEO, explains how authoritarian governments frequently use old colonial sedition laws to silence criticism. “In India, over the years, hundreds and hundreds of (sedition) cases have been brought, and it’s seen as one of the biggest threats to press freedom. […]
Explaining the Issues: Criminal Libel
Criminal libel laws date back to the middle ages but are in current use around the world. In many countries, journalists still face prison for doing no more than criticising someone in power CEO Peter Noorlander discusses criminal libel laws and the impact their use is having on human rights around the world. Can you explain what […]