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2022 | Buch

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Facebook and the (EU) Law

How the Social Network Reshaped the Legal Framework

verfasst von: Philippe Jougleux

Verlag: Springer International Publishing

Buchreihe : Law, Governance and Technology Series

Enthalten in: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

Inhaltsverzeichnis
insite
SUCHEN

Über dieses Buch

In den letzten zwei Jahrzehnten hat sich die Online-Landschaft mit der Entstehung von GAFAM (Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple und Microsoft) radikal verändert. Insbesondere Facebook hat eine einzigartige Monopolstellung unter den sozialen Medien erlangt und ist Teil des digitalen Lebens von Milliarden von Nutzern. Es hat sich allmählich ein gegenseitiger Einfluss zwischen Facebook und dem rechtlichen Rahmen herausgebildet, da die Gesetzgeber und Richter der EU einerseits gezwungen sind, die Realität neuer, weit verbreiteter Verhaltensweisen und Praktiken zu akzeptieren und andererseits einen rechtlichen Rahmen geschaffen haben, der der Nutzung des sozialen Netzwerks Grenzen und Regeln auferlegt. Dieses Buch bietet eine einzigartige Perspektive auf diese Beziehung, indem es die verschiedenen von Facebook vorgeschlagenen Aktivitäten und Dienstleistungen untersucht und die damit verbundenen rechtlichen Fragen diskutiert. Dementsprechend stehen Fragen der DSGVO, ihrer Prinzipien, Rechte und Pflichten im Mittelpunkt der Diskussionen. Allerdings beschränkt sich das Buch nicht auf den Datenschutz: Facebook hat auch erheblich zu einer Liberalisierung und Demokratisierung der Meinungsäußerung beigetragen. Entsprechend müssen die klassischen Prinzipien des Medienrechts auf der Plattform überprüft, angepasst oder angemessen durchgesetzt werden. Das Recht des geistigen Eigentums regelt, was im Besitz von wem ist, unabhängig davon, ob es sich um Rohdaten oder Informationsgüter handelt. Rahmenwerke zu Hassreden und Fake News sind das Ergebnis der Prinzipien der Mitregulierung von Regierungsführung, während sich die Rechtsprechung zur Verleumdung weiterentwickelt, wobei man die Folgen der bloßen "Sympathie" für bestimmte Inhalte berücksichtigt. Auch das Wirtschaftsmodell der Werbung unterliegt strengen Regeln. Vor allem aber steckt Facebook derzeit in einem Dilemma von erheblichem gesamtgesellschaftlichem Interesse: Ist es ein neutraler Online-Vermittler, also lediglich ein passiver Akteur im Internet, oder wandelt es sich gegen seinen Willen in einen redaktionellen Dienst? Zusammenfassend hat das Buch einen doppelten Zweck. Erstens schlägt sie einen globalen und praktischen Ansatz für den EU-Rechtsrahmen auf Facebook vor. Zweitens untersucht sie die aktuellen Grenzen und die laufende Transformation des EU-Internetrechts, während es sich stetig an das Leben in der neuen digitalen Welt anpasst.
Mit KI übersetzt

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter
Chapter 1. Introduction to the “Facebook” Phenomenon
Abstract
Discussing the legal impact of Facebook’s (now Meta) numerous activities is a methodological challenge. Assuming that “an effort at unfolding the truth requires commitment to objectivity, and freedom from the undue influence of competing ideologies”, research on Facebook encounters a difficulty: by using it, the legal scholar experiences a series of personal feelings, both positive and negative, that could potentially affect his or her objectivity, but not using it would deprive him or her of an intimate knowledge of the functions of the famous social network. In practice, this question is not even pertinent anymore, as for personal, familial, or professional reasons, almost three billion individuals have adopted the social network as a core component of their everyday life. Consequently, this research on Facebook and EU law does not pretend to achieve an absolute objectivity. Nevertheless, it will present a varied panel of legal issues regarding the functioning of social media, with the purpose of conciliating clarity and completeness.
Philippe Jougleux
Chapter 2. Personal Data and Privacy Protection: Facebook and the Big Data Mountain
Abstract
This chapter aims to address one of the most fundamental legal issues related to Facebook, which is its business model. Most of Facebook’s economy is based on the exploitation of its users’ personal data. It is true that data privacy legislation has a direct and fundamental impact on the organization of the social media platform. However, the EU’s data privacy legislation, principle-driven and horizontal in its approach, is not as simple and homogeneous as expected (Sect. 2.1). Furthermore, the practical range of this legislation is often underestimated. The combination of, on the one hand, an overreaching piece of legislation (guided by a dynamic definition of personal data, an extensive interpretation of user’s rights, etc.), and, on the other hand, an omniscient profiling activity (the huge “mountain” of data that belongs to Facebook) leads to a direct confrontation between EU law and this specific business model (Sect. 2.2). Characteristically, even the most fundamental matter of choosing the appropriate lawful basis for the processing of personal data becomes confused in the context of Facebook (Sect. 2.3). Not only do the data privacy legislation’s core principles affect Facebook and are affected by the social media’s management, but also specific issues, such as the protection of minors, acquire new dimensions in this context (Sect. 2.4). Finally, the chapter focuses on Facebook’s accountability, mainly as regards the thorny question of the transfer of users’ data outside the EU, specifically to Facebook’s US servers (Sect. 2.5).
Philippe Jougleux
Chapter 3. User-Generated Content on Facebook and Intellectual Property Rights
Abstract
Facebook’s business model indirectly feeds off user-generated content. The more original and captivating the content is, the more time users will spend on the platform and watch advertisements. Surprisingly, only a few major cases concerning intellectual property and Facebook have arisen. This does not mean, however, that the topic should be neglected. Intellectual property law, a relatively specific field of law, has emerged over the past few years as one of the major legal challenges to the main actors of the digital era.
Philippe Jougleux
Chapter 4. Data Ownership (and Succession Law)
Abstract
The protection of personal data is enshrined in the fundamental right to personality. Nevertheless, this paradigm obscures another reality: data, both personal and non-personal, have become a commodity. However, while intellectual property rights accept ownership over intangible goods, mere information is considered, as a general principle, to be free of protection from intellectual property regimes. Simultaneously, academic challenges, theoretical obstacles and legal uncertainty have not prevented the market from treating data in practice as a commodity. For example, Google buys data on a daily basis for the “Google Maps” service. Facebook’s raison d’être is to economically exploit its users’ data, presented as the flip side of the free access to the service.
Philippe Jougleux
Chapter 5. Defamation and Personal Attacks
Abstract
The Internet, and social media specifically, has given a voice to the crowd, thereby revolutionizing society. Nevertheless, this evolution from a centralized to a decentralized form of expression is not an exclusively positive development. As Umberto Eco noted,It could also be said that the intrinsic ambiguity and fluidity of the self—or, indeed, of other boundaries—on the Internet leads to online disinhibition.
Philippe Jougleux
Chapter 6. Intermediaries’ Liability: Where Is My Chair?
Abstract
“Chairs are like Facebook”. Facebook is not about “friends” anymore. It can be many different things for many people: a forum of political expression, an online gallery, a dating service, a team management device, an e-commerce tool, a way to keep in touch with family, etc. But how does Facebook see itself? In 2012, to celebrate reaching one billion active users, the company launched an advertisement campaign in the form of a short video made by Academy Award-nominated director Alejandro González Iñárritu. The video aims to demonstrate the utility and versatility of the platform, by comparing it with… a chair.
Philippe Jougleux
Chapter 7. Hate Speech, Fake News, and the Moderation Problem
Abstract
While attacks against reputation (Chap. 5) are a huge practical issue on Facebook, they do not normally result in the platform’s liability (Chap. 6). Nevertheless, the two legal issues of hate speech and misinformation differ on this point, as the influence of hate speech and fake news on democratic societies provokes much greater pressure from legislators and courts to regulate these issues. Unlike attacks against reputation, which are harmful to individuals, hate speech and fake news threaten society itself, in the sense that massive dissemination of such content on social networks induces in average users the false realization that their extreme political movements are strongly supported by the general population. This eventually leads to real life violence and/or to a modification of the political equilibrium in Member States. Even if this phenomenon mainly concerns hate speech, fake news is closely associated with it too, as it is in practice often produced in combination with hate speech.
Philippe Jougleux
Chapter 8. Freedom of Expression and the Rise of AI
Abstract
Although democracy is institutionally built on three pillars—the legislature, the executive and the judiciary—the media have for a long time been seen as the fourth, unofficial pillar. Without press, radio and television, no efficient control can be exercised by the population over the functioning of the first three pillars. Nowadays, the question is: what place do social networks occupy in this schema? Is Facebook the fifth pillar of democracy in the age of information? Mark Zuckerberg certainly believes so.
Philippe Jougleux
Chapter 9. E-commerce, Consumer Protection and Advertising Rules
Abstract
It is estimated thatThe platform has come a long way since the time it was only a virtual place for posting selfies. Facebook enjoys a remarkably unique position: it already has, by definition, contact with billions of potential consumers. This giant marketplace is characterized by a paradox: while myriads of e-commerce shops are flourishing, and although e-commerce was a lifeline for many companies during the pandemic, the biggest share of the overall value generated is attributed to the GAFAM.
Philippe Jougleux
Chapter 10. Conclusion
Abstract
In physics, the famous “Irresistible force paradox” asks this question: What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? The social media revolution is certainly unstoppable, and, at the same time, the EU is also certainly not willing to give up its sovereignty. But the premise of the question is flawed: neither an irresistible force, nor an immovable object exists in the universe. The real question is therefore one of interaction: how the EU can influence and accompany the societal changes induced by the platform, and how the new online activities push for an adaptation of existing legal principles and for an evolution of the institutions.
Philippe Jougleux
Metadaten
Titel
Facebook and the (EU) Law
verfasst von
Philippe Jougleux
Copyright-Jahr
2022
Electronic ISBN
978-3-031-06596-5
Print ISBN
978-3-031-06595-8
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-06596-5