Combating Civil Liability of Publisher on Social Media Platforms

Abstract

This study addressed an important and tangible issue resulting from publishing errors across social media platforms, in light of the widespread availability of digital content and the ease of its dissemination and delivery to the public. It also shed light on the problems related to determining the basis of publisher liability for the damage caused by published content, and reviewed the possible and necessary mechanisms to address such responsibilities. Accordingly, this study aimed to reveal the legal basis for this liability, and reviewed the appropriate mechanisms to limit violations resulting from publishing, in addition to attempting to provide an integrated vision for more effective solutions in these areas. To achieve these goals, we followed the descriptive, analytical, and sometimes comparative approach by extrapolating the legal texts, analyzing them, and comparing them with some other laws. This study reached several results, the most important of which is that the publisher’s liability is based on the publisher’s evidential error, and that the harm caused by this publishing can be addressed by highlighting the role of state agencies, which are responsible for ensuring the stability of society and protecting its members. Therefore, we recommend the necessity of combining efforts to launch awareness campaigns among the people and establishing official social platforms affiliated with the state whose mission is to discover violating content and address the risks of publishing and the resulting damage. We also recommend that the legislator must Expanding and filling the legislative gap in the field of electronic harms contained in the Anti-Cybercrime Law No. 05/2022, as well as codifying a unified code of ethics aimed at regulating all practices conducted via social media platforms.