What is a chilling effect on speech? Its a phenomenon frequently invoked by courts, regulators, and activists; cited in litigation, policy debates, and public discourse; and relied upon as an explanatory shorthand. Yet until now it has never been examined with the rigor it demands. This edited volume is the first work to offer a systematic, interdisciplinary examination of the chilling effect as a core analytical problem. Bringing together contributions from leading scholars and experts in the fields of law, sociology, political science, communications studies and the social sciences, the book directly addresses the conceptual, methodological, and normative dilemmas and paradoxes that have long surrounded the discussion on the silencing of those exercising their freedom of expression. The chapters cover topics such as free speech, surveillance, artistic and academic freedom, digital governance, and self-censorship. The approach pursued involves close engagement with legal doctrine and sociological theory, as well as empirical research, making it possible to move beyond anecdotal claims and toward analytically grounded inquiry. Particular attention is paid to conceptual ambiguity, causal uncertainty, and the perennial difficulty of identifying and assessing indirect forms of deterrence. Rather than offering a single definition or solution, the book probes a central question: how can chilling effects (often anticipatory, invisible, and contested) be meaningfully distinguished from legitimate regulation or ordinary social constraint? To address that question, issues such as evidentiary standards, measurement, cultural polemics, judicial reasoning, and democratic accountability feature prominently throughout the chapters. In addition to general conceptual frameworks, they explore a wide range of regional and contextual perspectives, including case studies from Africa, Asia, and Europe, and transnational governance settings. This book will appeal to researchers and scholars in all fields concerned with human rights and free speech and make a decisive contribution to chilling effect scholarship by transforming a widely invoked concept into a rigorous object of analysis.
Chapter "Chilling Effect and Fake News Laws: Lessons from East and Southeast Asia" is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.
So, what is the Chilling Effect? (Re)Conceptualising the Phenomenon of
the Chilling Effect in the Context of Legal Doctrine and Social Perception.-
Part I Chilling Effect and the Law: A General Account and the Overall
Picture.- Chilling effects theory and research as a field of study.- Global
Standards on the Chilling Effect: A Comparative Analysis of the Case Law from
the African, European, and Inter-American Human Rights Systems.- Chilling
Effect: Caution, Please Handle with Care.- The Chilling Effects of Foreign
Agent-Style Laws.- Chilling Effect and Fake News Laws: Lessons from East and
Southeast Asia.- Digital Protectionism Measures on Internet Content: A Carte
Blanche Justifying Interference with Human Rights.- Part II The Quiet
Oppression: Chilling Effect in the Global South.- Silenced Voices: The
Chilling Effects Psychological and Professional Aftereffects on Kenyan
Journalists.- State Suppression and Press Freedom in Iran: The Impact of
Censorship and Self-Censorship on Free Expression.- The Great Chill
unpacking temporary and long-term chilling effects on digital LGBT+ advocacy
in the wake of the Ugandan 2023 Anti-Homosexuality Act.- The Populist Assault
on Free Speech: Chilling Effect on Freedom of Expression in North Macedonia.-
Geopolitics, State Control, and the Chilling Effect: Chinese Academic
Responses to the Russia-Ukraine War.- Framing Silence: Independent Filmmaking
Under Censorship in China.- Press Freedom and the Protection of Journalistic
Sources Under Fire: The Case of the Belgian Federal Police Raids on the
Kurdish Televisions Channels Sterk TV and Medya Haber (Medya News).- Part III
The Triangle of Frozen Speech: Academia, Journalism, and Activism.- Western
Academic Gatekeeping and the Chilling Effect on Decolonial African Research
in Sociology and Sociolinguistics.- The Internal Chill: How Institutional
Factors Impact Academic Freedom.- Empowering Youth: Institutional initiatives
and Online Campaigns to Counter Hate Speech in the Southeast Europe.- From
Advocates to Targets: Chilling Effects of Red-Tagging on Peace Advocates in
Mindanao, Philippines.- Part IV Beyond Morality: Ethical Dilemmas of the
Chilling Effect.- Cancel Culture and the Impact on Freedom of Expression: A
Civil Right or an Instrument of Exclusion?.- Artistic Expression and Chilling
Effect.- The Chilling Effect of Media Manipulation and the Existential
Threats It Creates Through Systematic (mis)Information, (dis)Information, and
Stochastic Terrorism.
Gergely Gosztonyi (PhD) is a Full Professor, a Hungarian lawyer and media researcher. He is teaching various courses on infocommunication law, constitutional law and legal history at BA, MA and PhD level at his home institution, Faculty of Law of Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE). His research interests include global regulation of social media, censorship, deepfake, alternative media and the liability of intermediaries. He is a member of the European Communication Research and Education Association and the Community Media Forum Europe. He has been an expert on various occasions for the Council of Europe, the National Media and Infocommunications Authority, and the National Talent Centre. He is editor of several law journals and has published over 200 articles in Hungarian and international law journals.
Gergely Ferenc Lendvai is a legal scholar and researcher specializing in freedom of expression, online platform regulation, media law and science communication. He is currently pursuing dual PhDs at Pázmány Péter Catholic University and Ludovika University of Public Service, focusing on online communication, hate speech, and scientometrics. He has extensive experience in legal research and academia, holding positions as a Research Fellow at the University of Richmond and the University of Milan and a lecturer at multiple universities, including Ludovika University of Public Service and Károli Gáspár University. His work often explores the intersection of digital regulation and legal philosophy, drawing on his expertise in European and international law. He is co-editing several forthcoming books concerning digital dilemmas in the regulation of the online space, and has presented at numerous international conferences on topics like online hate speech, deepfake regulation, and the Digital Services Act.
