Administrative responsibility for spreading false rumors in social networks

Abstract

The article focuses on administrative liability for spreading false rumors on social networks in Ukraine, as provided for by Article 173-1 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses, in the context of the ongoing Russian armed aggression against Ukraine. The case law of the courts of Ukraine on the application of Article 173-1 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses is analyzed, typical defense arguments and problematic aspects of law enforcement are presented.

The trends in the use of social networks for documenting events, mobilizing public opinion, and disseminating information in wartime, with a particular focus on the Ukrainian experience, have been studied. The problems of adapting existing moderation rules to the specifics of the war situation, including the regulation of content containing calls for violence, images of cruelty, and other controversial information, have been considered. The restrictive measures used by Facebook and Instagram for content moderation, including blocking, «shadow banning,» and other types of restrictions, have been characterized, and their application to Ukrainian content has been analyzed. The legal concepts of «unverified information,» «unreliable information,» and «disinformation,» as well as the legislative norms of Ukraine regarding liability for disseminating unreliable information, in particular Article 173-1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of Ukraine, have been analyzed. The judicial practice of applying Article 173-1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses by Ukrainian courts has been analyzed, typical defense arguments and problematic aspects of law enforcement have been identified. The practice of the ECHR in the cases of Delfi v Estonia and Sanchez v France, as well as the relevant provisions of Ukrainian legislation, have been analyzed to determine the limits of liability of online platform owners for user-generated content.