All communication over the Internet is facilitated by intermediaries such as ISPs, social networks, and search engines. The policies governing liability of intermediaries for content have an impact on user rights including freedom of expression. A lack of consistency across these policies has resulted in censorship and other human rights abuses by governments and private parties, creating an environment of uncertainty that also impedes innovation online.

To address this, civil society groups from around the world have developed a best practices framework for regulators and intermediaries to consider when developing and reviewing legislation, policies and practices that extend liability to intermediaries (launched March 2015). The recommendations apply to both content and platform blocking or restriction at the intermediary level, cutting across all grounds of liability. Our objective is to promote the development of more principled national and global liability regimes that can promote users’ rights and innovation.

EFF's workshop at the Asia-Pacific Regional Internet Governance Forum (APrIGF) will introduce these Manila Principles on Intermediary Liability, outline our strategy to promote them to intermediaries and policymakers, and provide a forum for feedback from stakeholders from the Asia-Pacific region.