Politicians' liability for Facebook comments : A critical assessment of the Sanchez v. France judgment of the European Court of Human Rights

Gosztonyi, Gergely and Lendvai, Gergely Ferenc (2024) Politicians' liability for Facebook comments : A critical assessment of the Sanchez v. France judgment of the European Court of Human Rights. HUNGARIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL STUDIES, 65 (2). pp. 241-259. ISSN 2498-5473

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Abstract

Following the adoption of the Digital Services Act (DSA), a breakthrough legislation on platform regulation and content moderation, many were awaiting the decision of the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in the Sanchez vs. France case. The main legal issue centred on whether the European-style safe harbour model and the accompanying ban on tracking or monitoring private users would apply. The Grand Chamber's judgment, however, has raised more questions than it has answered. In the present study, we argue that the Grand Chamber's decision in the Sanchez vs. France case represents a striking departure from previous ECtHR judgments and the principles set forth by the Court, particularly in the Delfi and Tamiz cases. We claim that as a result of the Sanchez judgment it may appear that certain individuals, such as public figures and politicians, may be subject to continuous monitoring to avoid liability for third-party comments on their social media pages.

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