VIDEO: Protection of Press Publications and the fight against disinformation

Disinformation processes online have been a concern in several countries in the past few years – and have become more central during the Covid-19 crisis, as social networks and messaging apps are used to spread all kinds of information around the virus and the pandemic in general. Ever since, social media platforms changed their policies to control more speech than before, and policies to tackle disinformation have been proposed in different countries. Amidst these discussions, some stakeholders have been pointing to the European Union Copyright Directive as containing solutions for the “infodemia” – especially its controversial Article 15, establishing the so-called “protection of press publications”. Australia’s push in the same direction is a remarkable current example. In this track, we will discuss how discussions about intermediary liability for copyright infringement relates to disinformation in general, and in particular, the controversies around the solution represented by publishers’ rights.

Participants:

Julia Reda is a German researcher and politician and was Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for Germany from 2014 to 2019. As Member of the European Parliament, she was one of the lead negotiators of the EU copyright directive. She now leads the strategic litigation project control ©️ at German fundamental rights NGO Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte e.V. (Society for Civil Rights).

Neil W. Netanel is the Pete Kameron Professor of Law the UCLA. Neil Netanel teaches and writes in the areas of copyright, free speech, international intellectual property, and telecommunications law and policy. His recent books and book projects include Copyright’s Paradox (Oxford University Press, 2008); The Development Agenda: Global Intellectual Property and Developing Countries (Neil Weinstock Netanel ed., Oxford University Press, 2008); From Maimonides to Microsoft: The Jewish Law of Copyright Since the Birth of Print (Oxford University Press, 2016); and Copyright: What Everyone Needs to Know (Oxford University Press, 2018).

Rob Nicholls is an associate professor in business law at the UNSW Business School and the director of the UNSW Business School Cybersecurity and Data Governance Research Network. He is also a visiting professional fellow at UTS Sydney Law. His research interests focus on competition law, the regulation of networked and platform industries with an emphasis on the effects of technology in the regulatory space. His first degree was in electronics and communications engineering. Before moving to academia, he had a thirty-year career including working for law firms and the ACCC. Rob is an accredited mediator.