On 9 May 2019, LSTS Professor Joris van Hoboken joined the second, invitation-only session of the Transatlantic High-Level Working Group on Content Moderation Online and Freedom of Expression, which took place in Annenberg Community Beach House, Santa Monica, California (US). The Transatlantic Working Group (TWG) is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) of the University of Pennsylvania, in partnership with The Annenberg Foundation Trust, and the Institute for Information Law (IViR), which is affiliated with the Faculty of Law of the University of Amsterdam. The group offers a forum for experts from diverse backgrounds - politics, academia, business, technology and civil society - to observe policies and identify best practices in eliminating “hate speech, violent extremism, and viral deception online” while shielding free speech.
Professor van Hoboken participated in the session with his discussion paper on "The Proposed EU Terrorism Content Regulation: Analysis and Recommendations with Respect to Freedom of Expression Implications". In the paper, he critically addresses key findings with respect to the definitions of targeted speech and communications, the regulation by proxy and privatized enforcement and the deficient freedom of expression safeguards. He alerts that the proposed regulation poses substantial threats to freedom of expression and calls for risk mitigation before its adoption.
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