Fake news, French Law and democratic legitimacy: lessons for the United Kingdom?

Q2 Social Sciences

Journal of Media Law Pub Date : 2019-01-02 DOI:10.1080/17577632.2019.1679424

Rachael Craufurd Smith

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引用次数: 16

Abstract

ABSTRACT The United Kingdom is currently examining far-reaching regulatory proposals designed to address the online transmission of harmful content, including disinformation. Of particular interest, therefore, is French Law no. 2018–1202 on the ‘fight against the manipulation of information’. The French Law establishes a fast-track civil procedure to tackle the transmission of false information prior to key elections and referenda; addresses foreign state-funded broadcast propaganda; and seeks to enhance transparency regarding the financing and distribution of online content. Restrictions on the transmission of information, particularly in the run-up to elections, are inherently suspect and the Conseil constitutionnel carefully reviewed the French proposals to ensure that any constraints on freedom of expression were both justified and necessary. French Law 2018–1202 thus offers an example of a rather ‘muscular’ form of intervention in the election field, but one which seeks to preserve democratic legitimacy without undermining the individual freedoms on which it rests.

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假新闻、法国法律和民主合法性：英国的教训？

摘要英国目前正在研究影响深远的监管提案，旨在解决包括虚假信息在内的有害内容的在线传播问题。因此，特别令人感兴趣的是法国关于“打击信息操纵”的第2018-1202号法律。法国法律规定了一个快速民事程序，以处理在关键选举和公民投票之前传递虚假信息的问题；处理外国国家资助的广播宣传；并寻求提高在线内容融资和分发的透明度。对信息传播的限制，特别是在选举前的限制，本身就是可疑的，宪法委员会仔细审查了法国的提案，以确保对言论自由的任何限制都是合理和必要的。因此，法国2018–1202号法律提供了一个在选举领域进行相当“有力”干预的例子，但它寻求在不破坏其所依赖的个人自由的情况下维护民主合法性。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of Media Law Social Sciences-Law

CiteScore

0.90

自引率

0.00%

发文量

期刊介绍： The only platform for focused, rigorous analysis of global developments in media law, this peer-reviewed journal, launched in Summer 2009, is: essential for teaching and research, essential for practice, essential for policy-making. It turns the spotlight on all those aspects of law which impinge on and shape modern media practices - from regulation and ownership, to libel law and constitutional aspects of broadcasting such as free speech and privacy, obscenity laws, copyright, piracy, and other aspects of IT law. The result is the first journal to take a serious view of law through the lens. The first issues feature articles on a wide range of topics such as: Developments in Defamation · Balancing Freedom of Expression and Privacy in the European Court of Human Rights · The Future of Public Television · Cameras in the Courtroom - Media Access to Classified Documents · Advertising Revenue v Editorial Independence · Gordon Ramsay: Obscenity Regulation Pioneer?