Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Joan Barata @joanbarata.bsky.social · 14d

🌐 Upcoming webinar on "Age restrictions on social media: Regulatory approaches and freedom of expression"
📅 Date: 1 October 2025
🕒 Time: 17:30 CET

To confirm your participation please send an email to: [email protected]

Joan Barata @joanbarata.bsky.social · 17d

The EU Commission guidelines on article 28 DSA promote a flexible, risk-based approach to protecting minors online. Outright bans are simplistic solutions incompatible with comprehensive child protection. My piece for @techpolicypress.bsky.social

www.techpolicy.press/what-europes...

What Europe’s Digital Services Act Says About Age Assurance | TechPolicy.Press

Radical and disproportionate measures such as outright bans are simplistic solutions incompatible with human rights standards, writes Joan Barata.

www.techpolicy.press

2 3

Reposted by Joan Barata

Renee DiResta @noupside.bsky.social · Sep 11

Bolsonaro was just found guilty. 🇧🇷

On Tuesday we dropped a Lawfare Daily episode: a 101 explainer on the trial, the Trump tariffs, and the intersection with tech policy.

Hear from @laismartins.com, @joanbarata.bsky.social, and @jgorgen.bsky.social

www.lawfaremedia.org/article/lawf...

2 17 130

Reposted by Joan Barata

DeathNerd Killer @daphnek.bsky.social · Sep 3

This letter is important. It is a careful, detailed, scholarly, and accurate explanation of the elements of the DSA and EU law that prevent the DSA from being a "censorship" law in the first place. The list of EU expert signatories is stellar. @hutko.bsky.social @joanbarata.bsky.social

Berin Szóka @berinszoka.bsky.social · Sep 3

I also joined 30+ EU and US scholars on the DSA in letter debunking Jim Jordan's claims that the Digital Services Act is a censorship law (it's content neutral) and that it censors US speech (it applies only inside the EU) husovec.eu/wp-content/u...

husovec.eu

2 24 64

Joan Barata @joanbarata.bsky.social · Jun 26

The Supreme Court of Brazil is at the very final stage of deciding certain provisions included in the Marco Civil da Internet. In this piece published on JOTA I try to describe what is at stake.

www.jota.info/opiniao-e-an...

Dilemas da regulação de plataformas no Brasil

Decisão do STF reflete crescente pressão de autoridades por leis que obriguem plataformas a agir contra conteúdos 'negativos'

www.jota.info

3

Joan Barata @joanbarata.bsky.social · Jun 10

I had the opportunity to exchange views with great experts such as @noupside.bsky.social @daphnek.bsky.social and @dwj88.bsky.social in an interesting @lawfaremedia.org podcast with a very long title! Thanks for the opportunity.

www.lawfaremedia.org/article/lawf...

@futurefreespeech.org

Lawfare Daily: Censorship, Civilizational Allies, and Codes of Practice: How European Tech Regulation Became a Geopolitical Flashpoint

What is the EU's Disinformation Code of Practice?

www.lawfaremedia.org

1 5

Joan Barata @joanbarata.bsky.social · Mar 7

Leaving Kathmandu after intense and interesting discussions with members of the Parliament on how to improve the Social Media Bill to align it with international standards and best comparative practices.

1 2

Reposted by Joan Barata

The Future of Free Speech @futurefreespeech.org · Feb 21

🚨 Several Asia-Pacific governments have passed a new wave of laws to restrict online speech. 🚨

@joanbarata.bsky.social explains how the EU's Digital Services Act inspired APAC's legislative crackdown on free speech.

1 1 2

Joan Barata @joanbarata.bsky.social · Feb 17

Another important (and even more neglected) area is the cases where DSCs at the national level use DSA provisions to create extraterritorial effects within the EU and beyond the Member State in question.

1 3

Joan Barata @joanbarata.bsky.social · Feb 17

I believe we need to differentiate between extraterritorial effects as something established and mandated under DSA (which I would say is not clearly contemplated or endorsed) and the extraterritorial impact of "ordinary" DSA enforcement based on platforms characteristics and business models.

1 3

Joan Barata @joanbarata.bsky.social · Jan 31

My @futurefreespeech.org colleague @nataliealkiviadou.bsky.social has just finished a must-read book analysing the case law of the European Court of Human Rights regarding the definition and scope of the notion of #HateSpeech

www.routledge.com/Hate-Speech-...

Hate Speech and the European Court of Human Rights

This book argues that the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) should reconsider its approach to hate speech cases and develop a robust protection of freedom of expression as set out in the benchmar...

www.routledge.com

2 4

Joan Barata @joanbarata.bsky.social · Jan 27

Will the DSA Save Democracy?

I analyse together with Elena Lazar how the recent Presidential Election in #Romania has put European platform regulation at test and shown its shortcomings and enforcement challenges.

@techpolicypress.bsky.social

www.techpolicy.press/will-the-dsa...

Will the DSA Save Democracy? The Test of the Recent Presidential Election in Romania | TechPolicy.Press

The DSA cannot guarantee the fair and transparent development of election processes, write Joan Barata and Elena Lazăr.

www.techpolicy.press

2 2

Joan Barata @joanbarata.bsky.social · Jan 16

My recent article in Portuguese about the current judicial proceedings around Marco Civil and intermediary liability provisions in Brazil, and the possible impact on freedom of expression.

www.jota.info/artigos/o-de...

Marco Civil da Internet: o debate do art. 19 e a liberdade de expressão

Regime atual do art. 19 do Marco Civil da Internet equilibra adequadamente liberdade de expressão e moderação de conteúdo

www.jota.info

2

Joan Barata @joanbarata.bsky.social · Jan 11

Hoy publico en @agendapublica.es una "Carta abierta a Mark Zuckerberg" al hilo de su anuncio de cambios sustanciales en las políticas de moderación de contenidos de las plataformas Facebook e Instagram.

agendapublica.es/noticia/1955...

Carta abierta a Mark Zuckerberg, CEO de Meta

La inminente vuelta de Donald Trump a la Casa Blanca continúa transformando el sector tecnológico y los parámetros de la libertad de expresión. En esta 'Carta abierta', Joan Barata se dirige a Mark Zu...

agendapublica.es

1 2

Joan Barata @joanbarata.bsky.social · Jan 8

I believe it was biased to identify cases of non-transparent decision making with "secret courts", which usually refers to something else. In any case, this assertion is included in a highly subjective and politicised part of the statement.

2

Joan Barata @joanbarata.bsky.social · Jan 6

www.thefire.org/news/decade-...

A decade after ‘Charlie Hebdo’ killings, we are still failing blasphemers

One decade ago, two gunmen entered the offices of satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo and opened fire, killing cartoonists and journalists.

www.thefire.org

Joan Barata @joanbarata.bsky.social · Dec 25

www.20minutes.fr/monde/413084...

En Iran, le « Conseil suprême du cyberespace » vote le retour de WhatsApp

L'Iran a décidé de lever l'interdiction sur WhatsApp en vigueur depuis 2022, mise en place après les manifestations qui ont suivies la mort de Mahsa Amini

www.20minutes.fr

Reposted by Joan Barata

The Future of Free Speech @futurefreespeech.org · Dec 9

In the digital age, how do we address harmful online speech without sacrificing users' free speech? Check out @joanbarata.bsky.social's forthcoming chapter in The Oxford Handbook of Hate Speech: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

1 2

Joan Barata @joanbarata.bsky.social · Dec 7

In Romania the so-called Brussels effect (in its internal EU perspective) has taken a whole new dimension. One of the reasons put forward by relevant authorities to annul the elections was the alleged violation of #DSA by #TikTok Beyond wider geopolitical implications, definitely a case to follow

1 2

Joan Barata @joanbarata.bsky.social · Dec 6

‪Glad to share my chapter "The Future of Free Speech: Old Threats and New Challenges" for the upcoming book "The Oxford Handbook of Hate Speech" edited by @ericheinze.bsky.social @nataliealkiviadou.bsky.social
Sejal Parmar and Ioanna Tourkochoriti

papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

The Future of Free Speech: Old Threats and New Challenges

The contemporary challenges to freedom of expression are multifaceted and complex, with traditional regulatory frameworks being stretched by new dynamics in the

papers.ssrn.com

2 6

Joan Barata @joanbarata.bsky.social · Dec 5

Coming up if you happen to be in Porto.

1

Joan Barata @joanbarata.bsky.social · Nov 29

Thanks for another opportunity to discuss the nuances and implementation challenges of the DSA, this time with the colleagues from Post-Truth to Be Told.

@luisbouzagarcia.bsky.social @lucasproto.bsky.social

Luis Bouza @luisbouzagarcia.bsky.social · Nov 29

Last Friday of the month means new episode of Post-Truth be Told by @lucasproto.bsky.social for RECLAIM project. Guests @joanbarata.bsky.social @ilumium.eupolicy.social.ap.brid.gy and yours truly discuss the EU Digital Services Act negotiations and implementation. open.spotify.com/episode/47D9...

Navigating the Digital Whirlpool: the Struggle over the EU's DSA

Post Truth be told · Episode

open.spotify.com

1 2 3

Reposted by Joan Barata

Catalina Goanta @cgoanta.bsky.social · Nov 25

So it seems there was a candidate behind this campaign and for many other reasons he was most voted in the first round. Very interesting & scary: a rather artificial engagement campaign led to virality that influenced TikTok’s *search bar* and further amplified the candidate 🫠

Catalina Goanta @cgoanta.bsky.social · Nov 20

Curious about how a basic political influencer campaign looks like? I scraped TikTok and analyzed 40 videos made for the upcoming Romanian presidential elections.

humanads.eu/influencers-...

Influencers & elections: An Eastern European campaign blueprint | Human Ads ERC

A brief empirical analysis of an influencer marketing campaign from November 2024 for the presidential elections in Romania

humanads.eu

3 6

Joan Barata @joanbarata.bsky.social · Nov 24

Three commissioner-designates will be in charge of important tech policy moves of the next Commission in the immediate future.

techcrunch.com/2024/11/23/m...

Meet three incoming EU lawmakers in charge of key tech policy areas | TechCrunch

The European Union looks to have clinched political agreement on the team of 26 commissioners who will be implementing President Ursula von der Leyen's

techcrunch.com

2 4

Joan Barata @joanbarata.bsky.social · Nov 23

The treaty will allow authoritarian states to criminalize free expression and peaceful assembly under the guise of preventing cybercrime. A lack of due process or rule of law requirements will endanger those expressing an opinion that displeases an authoritarian regime.

cepa.org/article/us-a...

US Approves UN Cybercrime Convention That Legitimizes Censorship

Despite industry, experts, and lawmakers' concerns, the Biden administration supports a UN cybercrime treaty with authoritarian leaders.

cepa.org

1 1 2