Social media content moderation and limitations on freedom of expression: the role of the state

dc.contributor.authorDavis, Tara
dc.contributor.supervisorBadeva-Bright, Franziska Sucker an Mariya
dc.date.accessioned2024-06-05T13:40:10Z
dc.date.available2024-06-05T13:40:10Z
dc.date.issued2022-10-30
dc.descriptionSubmitted 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
dc.description.abstractSocial 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
dc.description.submitterMM2024
dc.facultyFaculty of Commerce, Law and Management
dc.identifier.citationDavis, Tara. (2024). The role of design houses [Master’s dissertation PhD thesis, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg]. Wiredspace. https://hdl.handle.net/10539/38598
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10539/38598
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherUniversity of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
dc.rights© 2024 University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.
dc.rights.holderUniversity of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
dc.schoolSchool of Law
dc.subjectSocial media
dc.subjectFreedom of expression
dc.subjectContent moderation
dc.subjectUCTD
dc.subject.otherSDG-9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure
dc.titleSocial media content moderation and limitations on freedom of expression: the role of the state
dc.typeDissertation
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