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Journalism Department hosted Workshop on Social Media, Regulation and Freedom of Expression: A Comparative Perspective

Self-regulation, the global legal framework on social media, and Internet censorship were discussed by media practitioners, scholars and journalists at a workshop on “Social Media, Regulation and Freedom of Expression: A Comparative Perspective” organised by the Department of Journalism of the School of Communication from 23 to 24 May. The workshop, which featured 32 speakers from Hong Kong and abroad who shared their research and analysis on issues related to social media, attracted more than 200 participants.

“Relevant [domestic] statutory provisions need to be thoroughly modernised to ensure their compatibility with international human rights standards,” said Professor Dominic McGoldrick from the University of Nottingham’s Human Rights Law Centre in his presentation that analysed the UK’s legal regulation of free speech on Facebook and social network sites.

When discussing media regulations in Mainland China, Mr. Gao Shangang, Secretary of Secretariat of All-China Journalists Association (ACJA) said that both self-regulation by the ACJA and regulation by third parties and the government are needed to curb the spread of fake news on China's social networking sites.

Professor Zhan Jiang from China’s Beijing Foreign Studies University analysed the legal foundation and questioned the legitimacy of the real name system on social media in China.

The workshop was sponsored by the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange, Taiwan, and supported by HKBU’s Department of Journalism and the Centre for Journalism Studies at Tsinghua University, China.

	Participants share their views at a panel session