Who polices speech online? Who’s in charge?

‘There can be an epidemic sweeping the world,’ the Nigerian Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, said. ‘It may be the epidemic of artificial news. Mixed with hate speech, it is a tragedy waiting to occur.’ Some claim that the disaster has already occurred. But may be the solution as easy as ridding social networking of disinformation and hate talk? Who should decide whether content material should be removed from platforms, or which users ought to be kicked off? Should about Talk Police: The Global Struggle to Govern the Internet governments set the rules and pressure the American behemoths–Facebook, YouTube and Twitter–to stick to? Or should the businesses be permitted to moderate their space as they observe match? David Kaye, among the world’s leading voices on human rights in the digital age, deals with these issues on a daily basis as the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on independence of opinion and expression. Talk Law enforcement brings us behind the moments, from Facebook’s ‘mini-legislative’ meetings to the Western european Commission’s closed-door discussions, and introduces journalists, activists, and content moderators who remove a virtual flood of photos, video clips and text each day. He tells the storyplot of people all over the world who want to get it correct while facing an almost impossible task–with massive consequences for users and the public.

Creative Commons cover icons (left to right) all thanks to The Noun Project: Talk Bubble © diambergerak, ID; Ear Mobile phones © Karen Tyler, GB; Microphone © John Caserta, US; Quantity by Krishna; Hearing © Scott Lewis, US