How to stop placing false information and hate speech on the Internet?

Abstract

The subject matter of this paper will be the protection of fundamental human rights from false and offensive information and hate speech on the Internet. The authors analyze the regulations and case law of the national courts of the Republic of Croa-tia, the ECtHR and EU Court of Justice. In conclusion, the authors note that the legal framework governing the protection of human rights in the digital environment has not been precisely developed, either at the national or at the international level. Nor has the case law thus far demonstrated clear and unambiguous precision in the interpretation of existing regulations. It is extremely difficult and challenging to achieve the right balance between the freedom of expression of the media and the right of individuals to protection of personality rights. The media should react to inappropriate content in a timely manner, but the general obligation to 'filter' comments of online media users is incompatible with the freedom of expression. Excessive control of information can easily turn into censorship. However, we believe that it is necessary to clearly regulate the rights and obligations of participants on the Internet because transparency and predictability of accountability is the only way to establish protection of fundamental rights of individuals and certain vulnerable groups.

Keywords

• freedom of expression on the internet
• false information
• hate speech