Most Internet users would agree that illegal content must be removed. Most users may not agree on is an ideal timeframe in which the removal should happen! Some believe that takedowns must be as prompt as possible, some others believe that prompt takedowns lead to silencing crucial voices and opinions. Participants in this session will discuss and deliberate on this key question that could potentially change the future of the internet.
Participants would be asked to share experiences and examples of the harms caused when removing illegal content was too slow or when legal but offensive content was taken down incorrectly and too fast! Participants would then be asked to brainstorm what would be considered an expeditious, fair and reasonable timeframe for social media platforms to remove harmful content?
This session is open to all – and we especially hope to engage with free speech enthusiasts, lawyers, policymakers and activists!
If 3 participants attend: we would facilitate conversation by sharing case studies of from around the world about the timeframes adopted in different jurisdictions and their impact on internet users – 6 hours in Venezuela, 24 hours in India and ‘expeditiously’ in Australia.
If 30 participants attend: we would divide them in break-out rooms of 6 members each at the beginning so each participant gets adequate time to share their thoughts and opinions. Two volunteering note-takers from each discussion room would share the highlights of each their sessions with all. At the end of the hour, we would bring all participants together for 5-7 minutes to summarize our discussions and to encourage participants to continue engaging on these issues post MozFest!
We're hoping that many efforts and discussions will continue after Mozfest. Share any ideas you already have for how to continue the work from your session.:As the issue of takedown timeframes is layered and requires long-term stakeholder interaction, we will create a Slack channel that participants can choose to join if they wish to take these conversations forward! The Future of Free Speech Project (the facilitators’ parent organization) is passionate about using academic and advocacy tools to push for free and democratic expression on the internet. In 2021, we are also working on conducting a virtual stakeholder consultation on some of these issues and we would offer participants of this MozFest session the opportunity of joining our next Stakeholder Consultation. We hope that our discussions at MozFest 2021 would be the beginning of further collaboration on these issues!
Jacob Mchangama is the founder and executive director of Justitia and the Future of Free Speech Project.
Raghav Mendiratta is an Indian qualified advocate and a legal researcher specialising in the areas of freedom of speech, privacy, media, technology, and criminal law.