World Tort Law Society - Personality Rights in the Information Age

The third project of the ‘World Tort Law Society’ (WTLS) on ‘The Protection of Personality Rights in the Information Age’ (preliminary title) concerns the protection of personality rights under tort law, with regard, in particular, to modern means of communication (mass media, the internet, social networks, etc). The considerable and ever-increasing practical significance is already more than sufficiently indicated by the countless cases which have become well known in the media, the ubiquitous challenges posed by the barely manageable flow of information produced by the internet, and the transnational activities which have already been undertaken in the field of data protection (leading inter alia to the passing of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation). A thorough, international examination of this topic is of particular importance because the conduct involved often crosses international borders, especially in the case of torts committed via the internet, meaning that foreign law may be applicable. The WTLS, which is committed to international comparative law research, can provide a valuable contribution to practice by conducting research in this field.

The study is to include a report from each of the jurisdictions represented by WTLS members, seeking to secure a representative international selection of jurisdictions, and one or more comparative analyses.

The project was formally initiated at the WTLS general assembly on 18 November 2017 in Wake Forest, USA, and is led by YAO Hui (Research Center for Civil and Commercial Jurisprudence, Renmin University, Beijing) and Ronen Perry (Haifa University).

The results of the study will be published in English (with De Gruyter, Berlin/Boston, with the subtitle ‘World Tort Law Society’), and subsequently also in Chinese (with the People’s Court Press, Beijing).