Recent researches have shown how the Bitcoin blockchain has been used not only to transfer values but also to upload illegal online content. This case is only an example of the relevance of speech in the blockchain environment. This chapter focuses on the relationship between freedom of expression and blockchain and examines the role and responsibilities of intermediaries in the blockchain environment. The result of this analysis shows that there is more speech among the blocks than it can seem at first glance. This chapter shows how the characteristics of blockchain technologies can foster and challenge the right to freedom of expression at the same time. Besides, this work underlines how the European regime of online intermediaries’ liability does not exactly fit with the blockchain environment.
De Gregorio, G. (2021). Blockchain and freedom of expression. In O. Pollicino, G. De Gregorio (a cura di), Blockchain and Public Law: Global Challenges in the Era of Decentralisation (pp. 123-140). Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd. [10.4337/9781839100796.00013].
Blockchain and freedom of expression
De Gregorio G.
2021
Abstract
Recent researches have shown how the Bitcoin blockchain has been used not only to transfer values but also to upload illegal online content. This case is only an example of the relevance of speech in the blockchain environment. This chapter focuses on the relationship between freedom of expression and blockchain and examines the role and responsibilities of intermediaries in the blockchain environment. The result of this analysis shows that there is more speech among the blocks than it can seem at first glance. This chapter shows how the characteristics of blockchain technologies can foster and challenge the right to freedom of expression at the same time. Besides, this work underlines how the European regime of online intermediaries’ liability does not exactly fit with the blockchain environment.
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