This document is part of UNESCO's Social Media 4 Peace project, funded by the European Union, that seeks to strengthen the resilience of societies to illegal content online and content that poses a significant risk to democracy and human rights (UNESCO, 2022). The objective is to gain a deep understanding of the causes, scale, and impact of hate speech and misinformation while promoting freedom of expression and peace through digital technologies in four pilot countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Indonesia, Kenya, and Colombia.
The increasing digitization of societies has led to unprecedented opportunities for the free flow of information. However, UNESCO has stated that there are concerns over how digital communication tools have become instrumental platforms for instigating violence and affecting democratic processes (UNESCO 2022). In addition to spreading hate, social media platforms are progressively being used to spread disinformation, false information, and propaganda designed to mislead the population, this was especially noticeable during the COVID-19 health crisis (UNESCO 2022).
The Foundation for Press Freedom (hereinafter FLIP) presents this document describing the current Colombian legal framework for addressing illegal content and content that affects democracy and human rights. This text seeks to contribute to the global discussion on the challenges of achieving an online conversation in line with fundamental rights and freedom of expression, while advancing in the search for solutions to the current difficulties in moderating and curating content in the same global digital environment in which diverse communities coexist in terms of culture, ethnicity, religion, language, to name just a few categories.

From October 2022 to March 2023, FLIP reviewed in detail the applicable legal framework in Colombia regarding hate speech, disinformation and, in general, content that may violate human rights online. Subsequently, FLIP spoke with experts in freedom of expression who provided their perspectives and analyzed the extent to which the legal system is in line with international standards on the subject and the greatest challenges faced by the legislation to address the problem.

In several countries around the world, civil society faces States that criminalize content that criticizes the government, religion, or other public institutions; this is the case, for example, in Tanzania where publications that cause "public discomfort" are sanctioned (Kaye, 2020). In other countries, such as China, governments can hold internet platforms accountable and impose multimillion-dollar penalties over content posted by citizens, without following due process (Kaye, 2018). Thus, to avoid fines, platforms become hypervigilant of citizens' opinions.

In other countries, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, public conversation is characterized by the presence of content that openly incites hatred on ethnic, national, and religious grounds.  Neither the state nor the platforms have found a way to protect communities vulnerable to violence. (Mediacentar Sarajevo 2022).

This is not the case in Colombia. Although the legal framework is far from perfect, the regulatory instruments are —in general terms— in line with most international standards on freedom of expression online. Colombia counts with the tutela action, a favorable mechanism for the defense of those affected by online content, and with a constitutional jurisprudence that has roughly strengthened the guarantee of the right to inform and be informed on the Internet. However, as shown throughout the text, the absence of public policies and some gaps and inconsistencies in the regulations leave room for abuse and create vulnerabilities for the population that ends up exposed to disinformation and aggression online.

Similarly, decades of internal armed conflict and a historical process of state configuration in the midst of a fragmented and unequal society result in a hostile public conversation. While marginalized communities denounce being victims of discriminatory online content, democratic processes such as presidential, regional and legislative elections are facing disinformation strategies online. Meanwhile, the country continues to aggressively discuss the events, causes and consequences of the war that took place during most of the XX century and is still going on.

This text is divided into four chapters. The first chapter describes the characteristics of online public conversation in Colombia. It also presents the historical context and details the circumstances in which risky content for democracy and human rights  content is published and disseminated in the country; this usually happens in public conversations associated with the armed conflict, in debates related to current situations that involve discriminated and vulnerable communities, and —mainly— during electoral periods in which smear campaigns against the media and journalists occur and disinformation strategies to manipulate voters develop.

The second chapter presents a literature review that clarifies concepts addressed throughout the text and elaborates on international standards on the subject. The third chapter contains  the body of the legal framework that describes the current regulations in Colombia to address potentially risky content for democracy and human rights and presents the alternatives fo dealing with such content. The fourth chapter analyzes the extent to which this framework is in line with international standards and reflects on the effectiveness of the legal tools to address the problem of hate speech and disinformation.

In parallel with the development of the conflict and cycles of political violence, Colombian civil society has been striving for decades to advance in peacebuilding. As part of these efforts, it is essential to understand how to promote a broad and robust conversation in digital environments, that guarantees diverse points of view, and protects the right of citizens to receive truthful and unbiased information. A conversation in which victims can know the truth about the events of the conflict and in which there is also, as Francisco de Roux said, recognition of "the plurality of narratives about the causes and memories of the conflict" (Hacemos Memoria, 2018). Yet, achieving this balance requires an enormous effort from the State as well as Internet platforms and an active role of civil society. This document seeks to contribute in that direction.

From October 2022 to March 2023, FLIP reviewed in detail the applicable legal framework in Colombia regarding hate speech, disinformation and, in general, content that may violate human rights online. Subsequently, FLIP spoke with experts in freedom of expression who provided their perspectives and analyzed the extent to which the legal system is in line with international standards on the subject and the greatest challenges faced by the legislation to address the problem.

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Regulating Disinformation, Hate Speech and Other Online Content in Colombia: A Legal Framework Analysis