Democratic erosion

Democracies have always gone through periods of crisis and stability, but there is no doubt that in recent years we are living through one of those periods. The rise of authoritarian movements that disdain democracy, unexpected electoral outcomes, and distrust in authorities and institutions that once produced trust are some of the features of this particular crisis. The internet, as a technology that channels public conversation, has not been immune to this phenomenon. Traditional issues such as restrictions on social protest, the role of public officials in protecting and strengthening public debate, SLAPPs, the growth of surveillance initiatives that affect citizens’ privacy, and the return of issues such as contempt or indirect censorship are some of the expressions of this phenomenon when it comes to freedom of expression.
Democratic erosion

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Publications

  • What we can and cannot expect from the exercise of public functions by private platforms

    Matías González Mama, Nicolás Zara, Agustina Del Campo, Ramiro Álvarez Ugarte
    CELE Research Paper No. 75

    Platforms have been increasingly assuming functions that do not differ much in nature from those performed by states: rule-making, adjudication, and enforcement authority over users' expressions and conduct. What began as voluntary self-regulation, enabled by legal architectures such as Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and the EU's e-Commerce Directive, has evolved into a model of outsourced governance in which states mandate private, profit-seeking actors to perform quasi-public functions, stripped of …