Misinformation in a Digital Age: A Comparative Analysis of how Legislation in the UK, Ireland, Australia, Hungary and the USA is Dealing with False Online Information

Abstract

In this dissertation it was shown how damaging online misinformation can be and the different jurisdictional legal instruments employed examine misinformation in a digital age – what misinformation is; the different legal and policy instruments used to reduce misinformation in the EU, the UK and America; the difficulties in identifying and tackling misinformation, and potential solutions to tackle misinformation on social media and on the internet. This dissertation examined the strengths and weaknesses of each piece of legislation and the difficulties in tackling misinformation. Issues identified included the violation of human rights in any censorship model, the problems of appointing a censor, including bias, incorrect censoring and abuse of power. The author acknowledges that disinformation and misinformation has hugely negative implications but emphasises the need for academic freedom and dissenting views for the sake of innovation and scientific breakthroughs. The author also identified many examples of dismissing or censoring statements that subsequently turned out to be true. The conclusions drawn from this dissertation were that there were many methods available for the tech giants to reduce online misinformation, but that these methods should be used only when statements are obviously and objectively untrue and harmful, rather than enforcing a draconian regime that ultimately restricts truth.