Annual Lecture 2018
The New World of digital communication and its challenges for the freedoms of speech and the media
Kate O'Regan, Director of the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights at the University of Oxford, delivered the HRLC's Annual Lecture on Thursday 4 October 2018.
Her talk addressed the main challenges when it comes to protecting freedom of expression online while regulating hate speech.
Kate explored some of the issues arising when trying to answer the question of what to do about hate speech online through the lens of Germany's recent Network Enforcement Law, the UK’s use of criminal law, the US Congress' recent legislation, and the European Commission's Communication on Tackling Illegal Content Online – Towards Greater Responsibility of the Internet Platforms Draft.
While acknowledging the fact that criminal and civil sanctions are important elements for the regulation of internet speech, she argued that they will always operate after the facts. In this connection, regulations implemented in the first place by large social media companies such as Facebook, Youtube, or Twitter seem to be the most workable way forward. The most appropriate regulatory response will have to be transparent, and designed to prevent undue over-blocking and discriminatory decisions.
About the Speaker
Kate O'Regan is the inaugural Director of the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights in the Faculty of Law at the University of Oxford, which opened in a new building at Mansfield College in October 2017. She served as one of the first judges of the Constitutional Court of South Africa from 1994–2009 and as an ad hoc judge of the Supreme Court of Namibia from 2010-2016.
Kate is an honorary bencher of Lincoln’s Inn, an Honorary Foreign Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, an Honorary Fellow of the British Academy and the recipient of seven honorary degrees. She has also served on the boards of many NGOs working in the fields of democracy, the rule of law, human rights and equality.