The perils of legally defining disinformation

EU policy considers disinformation to be harmful content, rather than illegal content. However, EU member states have recently been making disinformation illegal. This article discusses the definitions that form the basis of EU disinformation policy, and analyses national legislation in EU member st...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ronan Ó Fathaigh, Natali Helberger, Naomi Appelman
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society 2021-11-01
Series:Internet Policy Review
Subjects:
Online Access:https://policyreview.info/node/1584
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Summary:EU policy considers disinformation to be harmful content, rather than illegal content. However, EU member states have recently been making disinformation illegal. This article discusses the definitions that form the basis of EU disinformation policy, and analyses national legislation in EU member states applicable to the definitions of disinformation, in light of freedom of expression and the proposed Digital Services Act. The article discusses the perils of defining disinformation in EU legislation, and including provisions on online platforms being required to remove illegal content, which may end up being applicable to overbroad national laws criminalising false news and false information.
ISSN:2197-6775