The definition of “regulatory system” in the final section on “References to terminology” both fails to clarify the essence of what is envisaged here and is not sufficient coming at the end, after the “Resources” section, such that readers may not even advert to it. [...] International law is sensitive to context, especially in relation to the assessment conducted under the necessity part of the test for restrictions on freedom of expression under Article 19(3) of the ICCPR which, among other things, balances the impact of the restriction on freedom of expression against the benefits of the restriction in terms of protecting the legitimate aim. [...] The fact that the automated features of many platforms specifically contribute to the multiplication of harmful (but individually legal) statements, in pursuit of profits, also affects the necessity balancing exercise, since it speaks to the relative importance of the freedom of expression interest involved. [...] While the primary role of the Guidelines is not to elaborate on international human rights standards, it would be useful to set out this idea somehow in the Guidelines, at the very least in a footnote. [...] The Guidelines call for the placing of some obligations on platforms in relation to language and content moderation, for example calling for content moderation to take place in the country where the content is published, so as to ensure, among other things, fluency in the language (para.
- Pages
- 13
- Published in
- Canada
