The Center for Internet and Society (CIS) at Stanford Law School has appointed Luiz Fernando Marrey Moncau as Intermediary Liability Fellow. In this role at CIS, Moncau will continue his longstanding work promoting strong and well-crafted intermediary liability laws that advance the rights and freedoms of Internet users. He will start in July 2016, working with Intermediary Liability Director Daphne Keller
CIS’s three-year-old initiative on intermediary liability explores the impact of global intermediary liability regimes on freedom of expression and innovation. Intermediary liability law can create incentives for platforms like Facebook or YouTube to police the online expression and conduct of their users – including artists, journalists and political activists. Without careful consideration, these rules can stifle legitimate expression and political activities, and can constrain providers’ ability to offer innovative new services.
As part of its intermediary liability work, CIS, in collaboration with a team of contributors from around the world, built a detailed World Intermediary Liability Map (WILMap). The WILMap is an online resource tracking Internet regulations affecting freedom of expression and user rights worldwide. CIS Director Daphne Keller also has written about emerging jurisprudence from the European Court of Human Rights and other sources identifying intermediary liability law as a key protection for Internet users’ rights to free expression and access to information.
As Intermediary Liability Fellow, Moncau will lead projects connecting intermediary liability legal regimes to the fundamental, constitutional and human rights of Internet users. He will study laws and policies regarding intermediary liability regimes and their effect on free expression and innovation worldwide, and support the Center’s innovative and influential work in this focus area.
Moncau is an expert on freedom of expression and telecommunications and copyright law. As head of the Center for Technology and Society at FGV Law School of Rio de Janeiro, a leading research institution for law and technology in Brazil, Moncau has been on the cutting edge of the intermediary liability debate in that country. He was actively involved in the development of Brazil’s groundbreaking Civil Rights Framework for the Internet (the Marco Civil da Internet).
Moncau’s experience includes working on legal and policy issues, such as the reform of Brazilian copyright law, the ongoing debates about data protection in that country and the effects of international trade agreements on civil rights. He is the author of the book Freedom of Expression and Copyright (Liberdade de Expressão e Direitos Autorais), published in 2015 by Elsevier, co-author of the study “The Brazilian State and Transparency: Evaluating Compliance with Freedom of Information,” and author of a chapter of the “Media Piracy in Emerging Economies” study that was organized by Joe Karaganis and published by Social Science Research Council (SSRC).
“Intermediary liability regimes directly affect user rights online,” said CIS Faculty Director and Professor of Law Barbara van Schewick. “The law in this area is developing rapidly, and crafting it to preserve civil liberties and opportunities for technical innovation is critical. CIS is very fortunate to have Luiz Moncau contribute to our efforts in this area. His experience and expertise will be key in developing tools and networks to advance a human rights-based approach to platform liability laws.”
“I am extremely excited to work with the CIS’s team to address the emerging challenges brought by technology to online freedom of expression. I hope to contribute with my research, policymaking and advocacy experience to foster the adoption of balanced intermediary liability rules around the world,” said Moncau.
“Luiz Moncau’s experience working for Internet users’ rights makes him a perfect fit for the Center’s work on intermediary liability,” said Keller.
As the Head for the CTS/FGV, Moncau coordinated and conducted research on freedom of expression, intellectual property, Internet regulation, consumer rights and telecommunications regulation. Throughout his career, he has maintained strong public-interest ties, participating in national and international debates about online freedom of expression, cybercrimes, cybersecurity, and the protection of consumers of telecommunications services. Before joining CTS/FGV in 2008, Moncau worked as a lawyer and policy analyst in the Advocacy Department of the Brazilian Institute for Consumer Defense (IDEC), and as a consultant for the Brazilian Ministry of Justice on telecommunications and consumers’ rights.
Moncau earned a law degree at the Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo and a master’s degree in constitutional law at Pontifícia Universidade Católica of Rio de Janeiro, where he is a Ph.D. candidate. He has been a panelist and speaker at numberous academic and policy events, including public hearings before the Brazilian National Congress and international conferences. Moncau also has broad experience as a spokesperson addressing Brazilian and international press on emerging technology issues.
About The Center for Internet and Society
Led by faculty director Barbara van Schewick, the Center for Internet and Society (CIS) is a public interest technology law and policy program at Stanford Law School that supports the study of the interaction of new technologies and the law and is a part of the Law, Science and Technology Program at the law school. CIS strives to improve both technology and law, encouraging decision makers to design both as a means to further democratic values. Along with conducting research and policy analysis, the Center sponsors legal fellowships, organizes events to foster discussion of critical policy issues, and provides educational opportunities for law students to conduct applicable research and policy analysis in this field.
Date published: June 6, 2016