Civil confrontation of degrading content

Abstract

Abstract: The openness and technological advancements the world is witnessing have facilitated communication between people across the globe via the internet, particularly through social media platforms. This communication is a double-edged sword. It can be beneficial to society when legitimate and useful electronic content is shared, such as scientific, educational, religious, legal, economic, and social content published online, which can be utilized in various aspects of life. However, it can also be harmful when electronic content is published that is detrimental to society, either because it violates ethical principles, public morals, or public decency. Hence, the need arises to explore ways to address, within the framework of general law and specifically civil law, content that falls outside the bounds of freedom of expression. The legislator has restricted the exercise of this freedom to ensure it does not harm public morals and decency; otherwise, it moves from the realm of permissibility to the realm of liability. From this perspective, legislation, jurisprudence, and the judiciary have focused on establishing civil liability for the publisher of such content and anyone involved in its dissemination online. This is achieved by outlining the specific conditions and provisions of liability for each party, which this research aims to highlight in order to propose the most appropriate legal rulings. The Iraqi legislator, when regulating civil liability for publishing degrading content, established special legal rules that correspond to the specific nature of that content and the damages arising from it