Social media content moderation and limitations on freedom of expression: the role of the state
Date
2022-10-30
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
Abstract
Social media platforms are an important space for the exercise of freedom of expression. However, their operation poses a concomitant risk to the right. The right is both protected by and undermined by content moderation - a mechanism that enables platforms to determine the bounds of permissible speech, and what expression to highlight or suppress. This has significant implications for the right to freedom of expression but has been left largely to the private sector to regulate. This raises important questions about the role of the state in protecting and enabling the right to freedom of expression online. In this paper I discuss the need for content moderation, how it operates and the ways in which it undermines the right to freedom of expression in South Africa. I further explore the role of the state and analyses South Africa’s current regulatory response. In so doing, I contend that South Africa’s approach does not adequately respect, protect and promote the right to freedom of expression
Description
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Laws by Coursework and Research Report at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2022
Keywords
Social media, Freedom of expression, Content moderation, UCTD
Citation
Davis, Tara. (2024). The role of design houses [Master’s dissertation PhD thesis, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg]. Wiredspace. https://hdl.handle.net/10539/38598