Abstract
The Freedom of Information Act, 1998, anchors the right of citizens to receive information from governmental authorities. This legal regime assumes that transparency may restrain the government’s use of power. In the digital environment, the government increasingly relies on digital platforms to perform its functions. The multinational companies operating these platforms enjoy unprecedented power to regulate public discourse in modern times, as they control not only the content but also the means of distribution, and data of their end users. Nonetheless, these platforms are private companies, subject only to private law and are not bound by the Freedom of Information Act. Consequently, in the absence of either the government or the platforms being subject to any duty of transparency, law enforcement activities are likely to remain in the twilight zone between the private and the public sphere. This requires a rethinking of how the Freedom of Information Act should apply in this new enforcement environment. The article explores the limits of the Freedom of Information Act in the digital environment by analyzing the case study of speech regulation via online platforms. In recent years, Israeli law enforcement authorities have established a practice of removing allegedly illegal speech by issuing a complaint to online platforms based on their terms of use and community guidelines (“Alternative Enforcement”). The article analyzes the limitations of the Freedom of Information Act in shedding light on this practice and demonstrates how it fails to enable sufficient public scrutiny. Proposals are also made for ways of adjusting the law to enhance transparency and public scrutiny of governmental enforcement via digital platforms.
Translated title of the contribution | Transparency in the Digital Environment: Governmental Removal of Illegal Speech via Online Platforms |
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Original language | Hebrew |
Pages (from-to) | 27-54 |
Number of pages | 28 |
Journal | המשפט כתב עת לענייני משפט (שנתון) |
Volume | כ"ה |
State | Published - 2020 |
IHP publications
- ihp
- Computer networks -- Law and legislation
- Freedom of information -- Israel
- Freedom of speech
- Hate speech
- Internet -- Law and legislation
- Internet -- Psychological aspects
- Internet -- Social aspects
- Law enforcement
- Libel and slander
- Rule of law
- Transparency in government