The responsibilities of free speech regulators:An analysis of the internet watch foundation

Laidlaw, E.B. (2012) The responsibilities of free speech regulators:An analysis of the internet watch foundation. International Journal of Law and Information Technology, 20 (4). pp. 312-345. ISSN 0967-0769

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Abstract

The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) is a UK-based self-regulatory organization that seeks to reduce the availability of child sexual abuse and criminally obscene content on the Internet. One of the methods used by this organization is the creation of a blacklist of content, which the members disable access to through the use of filtering technologies. The work of the IWF raises fundamental questions about how to regulate free speech in the digital age; it carries out work of critical importance, but if unchecked its operations can have a significant impact on the right to freedom of expression. This article examines whether the IWF's regulatory structure is sufficient to protect and respect freedom of expression online. The analysis is both internal to the organization by looking at its governance documents, and external to the IWF by examining the applicability of human rights laws. Through this examination, wider issues in Internet regulation and human right are analysed, in particular the increasing impact of businesses on human rights such as free speech, the sufficiency of self-regulation to address human rights issues, and the limits in extending direct application of human rights laws to private organizations. This article concludes by identifying the risks with self-regulatory regimes when human rights are at stake and by framing the principles needed for accountability of such bodies as the IWF for freedom of expression.

Item Type:	Article
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Law
Related URLs:	http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?...
Depositing User:	Pure Connector
Date Deposited:	09 Jan 2014 14:28
Last Modified:	24 Oct 2022 05:05
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/44586
DOI:	10.1093/ijlit/eas018

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