Each theme contains useful resources for lawyers on freedom of expression, click below to get started.
An overview of the multi-faceted right to freedom of expression and how it is protected under international law.
Understanding digital rights is crucial to protecting human rights, as little of our lives today is immune from the forces of technology and the internet.
An overview of the ways in which access to the internet and online content are restricted around the world.
An overview of freedom of expression issues in the law, including how defamation is treated in domestic and international law.
An overview of the right to privacy, data protection, and protecting freedom of expression in a digital world.
Describes the different types of cybercrimes, tracks the trends, and evaluates how cybercrimes are dealt with in international law.
An overview of hate speech and how it is dealt with both under domestic and international law.
An overview of the ways in which access to content and freedom of expression online are restricted by private actors.
An overview of false news, misinformation and propaganda, including causes and potential solutions..
An overview of the various rights and concepts which encompass digital rights.
Sets out the applicable international human rights standards and provides an overview of fundamental international and regional legal principles.
In the digital world, in which our communications increasingly occur online or through digital channels and where we leave an ever-growing trail of data in the wake of so many of our daily activities, digital surveillance is a growing trend and a potential threat to freedom of expression and privacy.
Provides an overview of the right to privacy, as it relates to issues such as data protection, surveillance, facial recognition, encryption, and online harassment.
The rise of the ‘big tech giants’ has occasioned dramatic changes in the global information eco-system, including the ways in which people access news and public information, and how the news media generates income and connects with their audiences. It has also created complications with how illegal or rights-violating content, such as hate speech, is dealt with.
Provides an overview of the current ways in which non-state actors are facilitating online censorship.
The Media Defence manual on international and comparative media and freedom of expression law consists of a 136-page guide to international and comparative freedom of expression law, introducing topics ranging from defamation to national security restrictions on free speech.
Provides an overview of key concepts and procedural requirements and the stages of litigation at various regional courts.
Despite such strong support for the protections which should be afforded to satire and the satirist, there is little case law which deals with the subject directly – at least in the international legal sphere – other than a handful of cases heard before the ECtHR.
Note: this Factsheet deals with issues of a sensitive nature relating to harassment and gender-based violence. The relationship between gender and online harassment Online harassment and intimidation through text messages, phone calls or social media — often known as cyberstalking or cyber-harassment — severely restricts the enjoyment that persons have of their rights online, particularly…
The UNESCO Guide for Amicus Curiae Interventions on Freedom of Expression Cases, developed with the support of Media Defence, seeks to equip civil society organizations with the basic tools to file effective amicus curiae interventions, and encourage them to intervene in cases where freedom of expression standards can be advanced or where the right to freedom of expression or the safety of journalists is at stake. The Guide provides practical information on how to file amicus curiae briefs and sets out strategic considerations – as well as do’s and don’ts – with the goal of helping organizations write the most impactful brief possible.