Background paper:
Human rights in cyberspace
September 2013
Contents
1 Background and context 3
2 Scope of this paper 4
3 Freedom of expression and the Internet 5
3.1Freedom of expression in human rights theory 5
3.2Freedom of expression and information in Australian law 6
3.3Right to freedom of expression and information in human rights instruments 7
4 Permissible limitations of the ICCPR right to freedom of expression 7
Provided by law 8
Permissible purposes 8
Respect for the rights or reputations of others 8
Public morals 11
Public order 11
Restrictions must be ‘necessary’ for a permitted purpose 12
5 Current issues of ‘Internet censorship’: bullying, discrimination, harassment and freedom of expression 12
Cyber-bullying 13
Cyber-racism 13
Cyber-sexism/sexual harassment 14
Cyber-homophobia 14
6 Some regulatory challenges 14
Balancing of rights 14
Permanency 15
Ubiquity 16
Anonymity 16
Issues with law enforcement 18
7 Are current regulatory responses sufficient and appropriate? 19
Federal anti-discrimination laws 19
Regulation of ‘offensive’ behaviour 20
Overview 20
Regulation of workplace (cyber)bullying 20
Regulation of Internet providers and content hosts 21
Regulation of producers of content and upload of/access to content 22
International (cross-jurisdictional) regulatory initiatives 23
Non-legislative initiatives 24
Other proposals for responding to discrimination, harassment and hate speech online 25
Legislative reform 25
Other measures 26
8 A right to access the Internet 27
8.1At the international level 27
8.2At the domestic level 29
9 Conclusion 30
10 Questions for discussion 30
Addressing discrimination in terms of access to (and use of) the Internet 31
Balancing rights online 31
11 Further information 32
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