VOX-Pol is pleased to present the latest report in the VOX-Pol publication series, titled The Legal Response of Western Democracies to Online Terrorism and Extremism and Its Impact on the Right to Privacy and Freedom of Expression, written by researcher and human rights attorney, Nery Ramati.
Three blog posts were published in the lead up the this publication during the month of February 2020, under the title The Impact of Legal Histories on the Fight Against Online Extremism. These blog posts covered the French Revolution, the First Amendment and the Third Reich.
About the Report
Extremist ideologies and other violent movements have found the online sphere, and specifically its social networks, to be an efficient tool for advancing their methods and political needs. The legal responses to the resulting threats from this online activity vary from country to country. The immense importance of the Internet in the everyday life of billions of people worldwide has raised difficult questions regarding the attempt to regulate online activity, especially in relation to the right of privacy and freedom of speech.
This report examines how western democracies balance, from a legal point of view, the need to protect their populations from terror attacks and their duty to preserve the democratic rights of privacy and free speech. The report examines six countries: France, Germany, Israel, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States, as well as the global response of the United Nations and the European Union.
About the Author
Attorney Nery Ramati LLM was a partner in Gaby Lasky and Partners Law Office, a leading human rights office in Israel specialising in freedom of expression and protest. He has been representing Palestinian, Israeli and international human rights and anti-occupation activists in the military and civil courts since 2008 and specialises in representing in criminal cases relating to freedom of speech. He has provided legal counsel to various organisations engaged in documenting and protesting human rights abuses and violations of international law by the Israeli authorities in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Accessing VOX-Pol Reports
All VOX-Pol reports are open-access. This report is available for download HERE.