Professional Discipline for Vaccine Misinformation Posts on Social Media: Issues and Controversies for the Legal Profession.
J Law Med
; 29(3): 895-903, 2022 Aug.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2012453
ABSTRACT
Misinformation has challenged the rollout of COVID-19 vaccination around the world. In 2021, professional bodies for several regulated occupations (including doctors and lawyers) initiated investigations into the conduct of members who engaged in vaccine misinformation, including on social media. This commentary discusses key controversies surrounding this novel disciplinary issue, with the focus on the legal profession in New Zealand and Australia. We consider the difficulties of defining "vaccine misinformation", differentiating between public and private social media use, giving proper scope to rights of free speech, and challenges in identifying financial conflicts of interest and unethical client solicitation practices (eg, profiting from spreading vaccine misinformation). The chilling effect upon freedom of expression when lawyers are disciplined for their social media posts that are deemed unscientific is discussed.
Keywords
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Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Social Media
/
COVID-19
Topics:
Vaccines
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
J Law Med
Journal subject:
Jurisprudence
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
New Zealand
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