Constitutionalising Social Media (Hart Studies in Information Law and Regulation)

This book explores to what extent constitutional principles are put under strain in the social media environment, and how constitutional safeguards can be established for the actors and processes that govern this world: in other words, how to constitutionalise social media. Millions of individuals around the world use social media to exercise a broad range of fundamental rights. However, the governance of online platforms may pose significant threats to our constitutional guarantees. The chapters in this book bring together a multi-disciplinary group of experts from law, political science, and communication studies to examine the challenges of constitutionalising what today can be considered the modern public square. The book analyses the ways in which online platforms exercise a sovereign authority within their digital realms, and sheds light on the ambiguous relationship between social media platforms and state regulators. The chapters critically examine multiple methods of constitutionalising social media, arguing that the constitutional response to the global challenges generated by social media is necessarily plural and multilevel. All topics are presented in an accessible way, appealing to scholars and students in the fields of law, political science and communication studies. The book is an essential guide to understanding how to preserve constitutional safeguards in the social media environment. Hart Studies in Information Law and Regulation: Volume 1 Acknowledgements Contents List of Contributors 1. Introduction PART 1. SOCIAL MEDIA AS A MODERN PUBLIC SQUARE 2. Social Media and Protest: Contextualising the Affordances of Networked Publics I. Introduction II. Networked Protest Publics III. Country Contexts IV. Key Opportunities and Limitations V. Augmented Protest, Digital Citizenship and Constitutional Rights VI. Conclusion 3. The Rise of Social Media in the Middle East and North Africa: A Tool of Resistance or Repression? I. Introduction II. Social Media as MENA's New Public Sphere III. MENA's Legal Landscape: Constitutional and Statutory Protections IV. Leaders Strike Back against Pro-Democracy Resistance V. The Tenuous Relationship between Platforms and Governments VI. Conclusion 4. Legal Framings in Networked Public Spheres: The Case of Search and Rescue in the Mediterranean I. Introduction II. Social Media Platforms as Sites of Legal Framings III. Social Media on SAR: Criminalisation, Securitisation and Externalisation IV. Towards a Solidarity-Based Humanitarianism? V. Conclusion 5. Social Media and the News Industry I. Introduction II. Major Changes Associated with the Rise of Social Media III. The Implications of the Rise of Social Media and Decline of News Media IV. Conclusion PART 2. FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND PLATFORMS’ GOVERNANCE 6. Structural Power as a Critical Element of Social Media Platforms' Private Sovereignty I. Introduction II. The Regulatory Function of Technology: Unequally Appreciated by Different Actors III. Private Ordering to Structure Digital Platforms' Sovereignty IV. Conclusion 7. No Place for Women: Gaps and Challenges in Promoting Equality on Social Media I. Introduction II. Contrasting Online Misogyny III. Image-Based Violence and Platform Governance IV. Conclusion: The Path Beyond 8. Social Media, Electoral Campaigns and Regulation of Hybrid Political Communication: Rethinking Communication Rights I. Introduction II. Political Communication in the Digital Sphere III. Regulating Online Political Advertisements: The Current Landscape IV. Tensions between Fundamental Rights V. Rethinking Communication Rights VI. Conclusion 9. Data Protection Law: Constituting an Effective Framework for Social Media? I. Introduction II. Data Protection Regulation and Social Media III. The Global Race to the GDPR and its Constitutionalising Function IV. Conclusion and Outlook PART 3. STATES AND SOCIAL MEDIA REGULATION 10. Regulatory Shift in State Intervention: From Intermediary Liability to Responsibility I. Introduction II. Theory: From Welfare to Moral Theories III. Market: From Innovators to Moderators IV. Policy: From Intermediary Liability to Responsibility V. Technology: From Human to Algorithmic Enforcement VI. Practice: Private Enforcement in Action VII. Conclusions 11. Government-Platform Synergy and its Perils I. Introduction II. Governmental Speech Enforcement by Platforms III. The Limits of the Constitutional Framework in the Digital Political Economy IV. Public-Platform Synergy V. Conclusions 12. Social Media and State Surveillance in China: The Interplay between Authorities, Businesses and Citizens I. Introduction II. Infrastructure and Legislation of State Surveillance III. Conclusions 13. The Perks of Co-Regulation: An Institutional Arrangement for Social Media Regulation? I. Introduction II. Theoretical Framework III. Co-Regulation and Fundamental Rights in Social Media IV. Conclusions PART 4. CONSTITUTIONALISING SOCIAL MEDIA 14. Changing the Normative Order of Social Media from Within: Supervisory Bodies I. Introduction II. Hybridity of Platform Governance III. Organising Oversight IV. Architectural Design Choices and Development Paths V. Reflection and Outlook 15. Content Moderation by Social Media Platforms: The Importance of Judicial Review I. Introduction II. Protection of Speech and Platformisation III. The Deutsche Welle Case and its Context IV. Challenge(s) in Content Moderation V. Why Judicial Review Matters VI. Outlook 16. Digital Constitutionalism: In Search of a Content Governance Standard I. Introduction II. International Standards III. Civil Society Initiatives IV. A Comparison with Facebook's Community Standards V. Conclusion Index "This book explores to what extent constitutional principles are put under strain in the social media environment, and how constitutional safeguards can be established for the actors and processes that govern this world: in other words, how to constitutionalise social media. Millions of individuals around the world use social media to exercise a broad range of fundamental rights. However, the governance of online platforms may pose significant threats to our constitutional guarantees. The chapters in this book bring together a multi-disciplinary group of experts from law, political science, and communication studies to examine the challenges of constitutionalising what today can be considered the modern public square. The book analyses the ways in which online platforms exercise a sovereign authority within their digital realms, and sheds light on the ambiguous relationship between social media platforms and state regulators. The chapters critically examine multiple methods of constitutionalising social media, arguing that the constitutional response to the global challenges generated by social media is necessarily plural and multilevel. All topics are presented in an accessible way, appealing to scholars and students in the fields of law, political science and communication studies. The book is an essential guide to understanding how to preserve constitutional safeguards in the social media environment."-- Provided by publisher