citizens-data-advice-agency
Abstract
Copyright, as currently understood, is justified by the belief that the protection it grants to creators incentivizes the continued creation of works deemed culturally beneficial to society. However, its use can be less altruistic, as a means of suppressing embarrassing or controversial information. The ability to disseminate sensitive material quickly through the Internet concerns both state and non-state actors, and there are indications that, through the use of private intermediaries, copyright can be used to suppress speech. This article seeks to explain how the current neoliberal system of governance blurs the line between public and private actors, creating a diffused and decentralized system of copyright enforcement that allows for the suppression of speech in a way that avoids discussion of censorship.
