TY - JOUR
T1 - Regulatory capitalism, decentred enforcement and its legal consequences for digital expression
T2 - the use of copyright law to restrict freedom of speech online
AU - Farrand, Benjamin
PY - 2013
Y1 - 2013
N2 - Copyright as currently understood is justified by the belief that the protection it grants to creators incentivises the continued creation of works deemed culturally beneficial to society. However, its use can be less altruistic, as a means of suppressing embarrassing or controversial information. The ability to disseminate sensitive material quickly through the Internet concerns both State and non-State actors, and there are indications that through the use of private intermediaries, copyright can be used to suppress speech. This article shall seek to explain how the current neoliberal system of governance blurs the line between public and private actors, creating a diffused and decentralised system of copyright enforcement that allows for the suppression of speech in a way that avoids discussion of censorship.
AB - Copyright as currently understood is justified by the belief that the protection it grants to creators incentivises the continued creation of works deemed culturally beneficial to society. However, its use can be less altruistic, as a means of suppressing embarrassing or controversial information. The ability to disseminate sensitive material quickly through the Internet concerns both State and non-State actors, and there are indications that through the use of private intermediaries, copyright can be used to suppress speech. This article shall seek to explain how the current neoliberal system of governance blurs the line between public and private actors, creating a diffused and decentralised system of copyright enforcement that allows for the suppression of speech in a way that avoids discussion of censorship.
KW - copyright
KW - neoliberalism
KW - regulatory capitalism
KW - freedom of expression
KW - censorship
KW - fair use
KW - intermediaries
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84889685253&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/19331681.2013.843922
DO - 10.1080/19331681.2013.843922
M3 - Article
VL - 10
SP - 404
EP - 422
JO - Journal of Information Technology and Politics
JF - Journal of Information Technology and Politics
SN - 1933-1681
IS - 4
ER -