Fundamental Rights Protection Online: The Future Regulation of Intermediaries

Fundamental Rights Protection Online presents an in-depth analysis of national, supranational and international attempts at online speech regulation, illustrating how the law has been unsettled on how to treat intermediaries.

In this book, expert contributors explore how problems ranging from disinformation to hate speech to copyright violations are framed and tackled though legislation, codes of conduct and judicial interpretation. The chapters discuss positive law developments in the intersection of intermediary liability and rights, considering both the history and current intellectual debates surrounding European and US legislative initiatives. In addition to examining how the European Union and individual European nations regulate speech online, the book also analyses the e-Commerce Directive, the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and principles established under the United Nations. It concludes that content regulation online is best captured by the notion of 'speech curation', involving both private and public actors.

Taking a human rights approach to online speech regulation, this timely book will be critical reading for academics and students of law, particularly those with an interest in internet law, information law and human rights. Its exploration of intermediary liability and fundamental rights will also be beneficial for legal practitioners working in online rights protection.

Edited by Bilyana Petkova, Professor of Law, University of Graz, Austria and Tuomas Ojanen, Professor of Law, University of Helsinki, Finland