The regulation of social media content personalisation: An international human rights perspective
type: CreativeWork
description: This mini-thesis critically examines the extent to which existing international, regional, and domestic legal frameworks provide effective mechanisms for preventing social media content personalisation from violating Article 25(b) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Through a comprehensive analysis of human rights law and emerging cyber law, the study explores the complex interplay between psycho-social patterns of engagement, social media algorithms, and the human right of democratic participation. The research employs historical, analytical, and comparative methodologies, and draws on literature from law, psychology and technology to evaluate legal instruments and enforcement mechanisms across international, regional, and domestic contexts. It identifies significant gaps in current frameworks, including challenges related to the inter-actor interconnectedness of human rights in cyberspace, jurisdictional issues arising from the borderless nature of social media, and evidentiary difficulties in establishing direct links between algorithmic content curation and human rights violations.
abstract: This mini-thesis critically examines the extent to which existing international, regional, and domestic legal frameworks provide effective mechanisms for preventing social media content personalisation from violating Article 25(b) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Through a comprehensive analysis of human rights law and emerging cyber law, the study explores the complex interplay between psycho-social patterns of engagement, social media algorithms, and the human right of democratic participation. The research employs historical, analytical, and comparative methodologies, and draws on literature from law, psychology and technology to evaluate legal instruments and enforcement mechanisms across international, regional, and domestic contexts. It identifies significant gaps in current frameworks, including challenges related to the inter-actor interconnectedness of human rights in cyberspace, jurisdictional issues arising from the borderless nature of social media, and evidentiary difficulties in establishing direct links between algorithmic content curation and human rights violations.
author: Lewis, Clifford Pierre
keywords: Soft Law, Social Media, International Human Rights, Democratic Participation, Attention Economy
license: https://uwcscholar.uwc.ac.za/bitstreams/260ca14f-02e8-45ab-816c-fb95f032a2b8/download
date published: 2023
date modified: 2026-07-24T06:00:44Z
provider: University of the Western Cape
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of the Western Cape