The regulation of social media content personalisation: An international human rights perspective

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.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of the Western Cape

Year dc:date.issued

2023

Author dc:creator

• Lewis, Clifford Pierre

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Kondo, Tinashe

• Soft Law
• Social Media
• International Human Rights
• Democratic Participation
• Attention Economy

Licence

• https://uwcscholar.uwc.ac.za/bitstreams/260ca14f-02e8-45ab-816c-fb95f032a2b8/download