On Network Service Providers' Protection And Regulation Of Freedom Of Network Expression

In the era of information torrents,freedom of expression on the Internet is what it means to express freedom,and it has received extensive attention because of the rapid development of the Internet.As a right,the freedom of network expression has both positive and negative attributes.The positive attribute is reflected in the expression of opinions,propositions,emotions,etc.The negative attribute is reflected in the exercise of the right to exclude interference from others.Because freedom of online expression has the advantages of shaping active citizens,promoting and maintaining democratic politics,enhancing knowledge,learning the truth,prospering culture,maintaining and promoting personal value,and helping individuals to realize themselves,we need to protect this right;At the same time,due to the anonymity of rights subjects exercising freedom of online expression,there is a risk of excessive emotionality in the exercise of rights,and due to the diversity and convenience of the content of this right,the rights subjects become extreme when exercising rights It is easy to transcend the boundary of rights and endanger national interests,social interests,and infringe on the legal rights of others.Therefore,it is necessary to regulate the freedom of expression on the Internet.As an intermediate link in the "individual-platform-country" ternary structure,internet service providers play an important role in the exercise of citizens' freedom of internet expression.The "peer-to-peer" dissemination characteristics of information in the Internet era,the lack of authenticity and legitimacy of information dissemination,the dilemma of individual rights protection,and the role played by internet service providers in the ternary structure constitute the practical basis of the protection and regulation,and the obligation of network service providers to pay attention to network information provides a theoretical basis for protection and regulation of freedom of internet expression.At the same time,cyberspace,as an extension of the real society,cannot exist independently from the real society.The two promote each other's development,information penetrates and transforms,and users gather in the cyberspace by means of expression,so that the network expression has a public characteristics;and the topics discussed by users are often public,so the network service platform has the characteristics of publicity.Internet service providers' duty of care,the practical basis for protecting and regulating freedom of internet expression,and the public nature of the network service platform constitute the legitimate basis for internet service providers' protection and regulation of freedom of internet expression.How to find a balance between protecting the freedom of network expression and regulating the behavior of transboundary expression is a serious challenge for internet service providers who are in a neutral position in the ternary structure.Legislation and industry self-discipline are the main ways to protect and regulate the freedom of network expression in highly mature countries with internet development in today's world.These two approaches put forward different requirements for the role of internet service providers.The role of internet service providers in legislation is more reflected in the regulation of freedom of expression on the network,and the protection of rights is easily overlooked;while industry self-discipline gives network service providers a broader initiative as a space.At present,China's protection and regulation of freedom of online expression mainly adopts the mode of legislation and regulation,and the industry has a weak sense of self-discipline.Although the legislative model is convenient for administrative agencies to regulate the behavior of transboundary expressions strongly,its shortcomings such as more obligations than rights,more abstract regulations and less specific regulations,and the lack of systematization of relevant laws and regulations,as well as the practical difficulties of law enforcement by grassroots personnel have not achieved the good effect of protecting and regulating the freedom of expression on the Internet.This article proposes relevant improvement suggestions for the shortcomings of China's legislative model,and analyzes the feasibility of protecting and regulating freedom of network expression by promoting industry self-discipline.It is a long and tortuous process to promote the process of legalization of the internet and improve the protection and regulation of freedom of expression on the internet.It is an important issue to explore how to achieve the balance of protection and regulation through the role of all parties in this process.