Congratulations to Professor Tsachi Keren-Paz on the publication of his new book 'Egalitarian Digital Privacy: Image-Based Abuse and Beyond' (Bristol UP, 2023) as part of the series Law, Society, Policy. The research for the book was supported by a Leverhulme Fellowship (RF-2016-358\8).
A hybrid author meets readers event, reviewing Tsachi's book, will take place at ºù«Ӱҵ, School of Law, Bartolome House on Monday 10 May 2023.
Book synopsis:
With a focus on private law theory, the book defines the appropriate scope of civil liability for breach of privacy by platforms and viewers for hosting and viewing non-consensual intimate images (NCII) while critiquing both EU and US solutions to the problem. The book expands the substantial and growing literature and policy discussions around intimate image abuse, by engaging with ways to tackle these forms of abuse beyond the criminal law (the dominant and familiar approach). Through its analysis, the book develops a new theory of egalitarian digital privacy.
The core policy argument in this book is threefold: first, that harm from invading one’s sexual privacy is more severe and pernicious than other harms from users’ content. As such, it justifies a filtering obligation by hosts, regardless of their size, backed by strict liability for any remaining images and strict liability of those who view these images; crucially, the same is not necessarily true for other user content such as defamatory speech and breach of copyright.
Second, once it is understood that child pornography is a sub- category of NCII, but that the latter involves the same types of harms as the former, the current regulatory gap between the ways the two types of right- violations are treated should be significantly narrowed down. Similar to defences to criminal responsibility for child pornography, promptly deleting unsolicited NCII should prevent civil liability.
Third, hosting and viewing NCII is akin to selling and buying stolen property. Whether the right to privacy ought to be considered as alienable (property) or not, it does not make sense that those who sell and buy it would be in a better position than those who sell and buy personal property. Liability of each viewer should be to a significant amount, but should not extend to the entire loss.
Several old and new regulatory approaches from both the US and Europe are criticised including: immunity to platforms and hosts; limiting hosts’ liability to failure to remove images expeditiously after notice; the adoption of a horizontal approach; the stronger protection afforded to copyright holders over victims of breach of privacy; the refusal to criminalise possession of NCII; and the adoption of means-based test for the monitoring duties of platforms.
To celebrate the release and publication of Tsachi’s book you can using the code or weblink on the linked flyer.
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