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Regulation of Online Freedom of Expression in Russia in the Context of the Council of Europe Standards

Sat, May 26, 12:30 to 13:45, Hilton Prague, Floor: LL, Congress Hall III

Abstract

This paper compares Russian national legislation concerning online freedom of expression with the Council of Europe (CoE) legal standards on this issue to discover the extent to which the Russian legislation has been consistent with the CoE vision. The paper first examines the CoE perspective, including the European Court of Human Rights case law and non-binding documents of the other main CoE institutions. Then, it analyses the Russian national legislation and the highest Russian courts’ perspectives. The paper compares the CoE and Russian legal visions of key principles to govern online freedom of expression, the new notion of media, editorial responsibility for the readers comments, the right to anonymity and the protection of journalists from surveillance. The paper concludes that the Russian legislation concerning online freedom of expression needs a considerable revision to comply with the CoE standards and suggests that Internet companies and international organisations should drive this process.

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