An effective online content governance framework that balances freedom of expression and freedom from misogynistic speech continues to be a policy challenge for gender inclusion. The attacks that women face in the online public sphere reflects social prejudice that is deeply based on context, and intersectional. For instance, in India and Brazil, caste and race are ever-present in the hate that women encounter online.
In this panel, we will upresent for the first time first the preliminary results of a research being developed in parnership by InternetLab (Brazil) and IT for Change (India), in which legal frameworks and court rulings in both countries are being analyzed; the results so far provide insights into the normalization of misogynous speech and issues around access to justice. Expert panelists from the African and European regions will also provide insights into the following policy questions:
1. Local-level legislation and policies: What is the character of the current legal vacuum, and which are possible solutions for enhancing women's protection against hate speech online, at the local level?
2. Solutions at the platform level / policies directed to platforms: what have been the outcomes of national or regional initiatives directed to platforms to curb hate speech, such as the NetzDG or the EU Code of Conduct? How to evaluate those policies in comparison with private regulation developed by platforms themselves, or new developments such as Facebook's External Oversight Board?
3. Algorithmic filtering: Is preemptive filtering an effective tool to tackle gender-based hate speech online? Or is overcensorship an inevitable outcome? What does experience suggest?
