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Description
This interdisciplinary project focused on online speech directed at women and seeks to provide a primer on (i) what legal remedies, if any, are available for victims of sexist, misogynist, or harassing online speech, and (ii) if such legal remedies and procedures exist, whether practical hurdles stand in the way of victims’ abilities to stop harassing or defamatory behavior and to obtain legal relief. The study concluded that while online harassment and hateful speech is a significant problem, there are few legal remedies for victims. This is partly due to issues of jurisdiction and anonymity, partly due to the protection of internet speech under the First Amendment, and partly due to the lack of expertise and resources on online speech at various levels of law enforcement. Given this landscape, the problem of online harassment and hateful speech is unlikely to be solved solely by victims using existing laws; law should be utilized in combination with other practical solutions.
Publication Date
6-10-2014
Rights
(c) 2014. Alice Marwick and Fordham CLIP. This study may be reproduced, in whole or in part, for educational and non‐commercial purposes.
Publisher
Fordham Center on Law and Information Policy
City
New York
Keywords
online harassment, defamation, hate speech, misogyny, online communities, conflict
