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110-428: International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) was founded in 1984 by Tom Winship, Jim Ewing, and George Krimsky, three U.S. journalists, to support other journalists abroad, especially those in countries with poor or non-existent free press systems. They believed that the proper role of the news media was to expose, investigate, and articulate issues of concern to average citizens, and wished to propagate these ideals across

220-503: A 2019 special report by the Committee to Protect Journalists , approximately 25 journalists were murdered on duty in 2019. The figure is claimed to be the lowest since 2002, a year in which at least 21 journalists were killed while they were reporting from the field. Meanwhile, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reported 49 killings, the lowest since 2003, when almost 36 journalists were killed. Leading press watchdogs fear persisting danger for

330-511: A country's legal system can go as far down as its constitution . The concept of freedom of speech is often covered by the same laws as freedom of the press, thereby giving equal treatment to spoken and published expression. Freedom of the press was formally established in Great Britain with the lapse of the Licensing Act in 1695. Sweden was the first country in the world to adopt freedom of

440-531: A crime. The king was above public criticism and statements critical of the government were forbidden, according to the English court of the Star Chamber . The truth was not a defense to seditious libel because the goal was to prevent and punish all condemnation of the government. Locke contributed to the lapse of the Licensing Act in 1695 , whereupon the press needed no license. Still, some libels were tried throughout

550-467: A different time (e.g., during the day), at a different place (e.g., at a government building or in another public forum ), or in a different manner (e.g., a silent protest ). Funeral Protests are a complex issue in the United States. It is a right to Americans to be able to hold a peaceful protest against various policies they deem unreasonable. It is a question of whether or not it is appropriate through

660-450: A key mechanism of a functioning, healthy democracy . In the absence of censorship , journalism exists as a watchdog of private and government action, providing information to maintain an informed citizenry of voters. In this perspective, "government efforts to influence published or broadcasted news content, either via media control or by inducing self-censorship , represent a threat to the access of important and necessary information to

770-578: A long tradition of freedom of speech, including freedom of the press, which yet exists in the XVIII century and in the XIX century. After World War II, Hugh Baillie , the president of the United Press wire service based in the U.S., promoted freedom of news dissemination. In 1944, he called for an open system of news sources and transmission, and a minimum of government regulation of the news. His proposals were aired at

880-558: A more adaptable and at the same time more stable community, of maintaining the precarious balance between healthy cleavage and necessary consensus". Emerson furthermore maintains that "Opposition serves a vital social function in offsetting or ameliorating (the) normal process of bureaucratic decay". Research undertaken by the Worldwide Governance Indicators project at the World Bank , indicates that freedom of speech, and

990-570: A nervous meltdown when called journalist Paul Pârvu asked him if he felt guilt over Romanian deaths during the revolution. During the exchange, Iliescu referred to Pârvu as an "animal". Modern, major media outlets were founded during the mid-1990s, such as Antena 1 in 1994 and ProTV in 1995. In 1999, the editor of a Ora , a local newspaper, Tiberiu Patru, was arrested before being able to publish an investigation of corruption in Dolj County under. In response, Ora moved its newsroom in front of

1100-408: A report published in 1776, he wrote: No evidence should be needed that a certain freedom of writing and printing is one of the strongest bulwarks of a free organization of the state, as, without it, the estates would not have sufficient information for the drafting of good laws, and those dispensing justice would not be monitored, nor would the subjects know the requirements of the law, the limits of

1210-408: A right includes the content and the means of expression. The right to freedom of speech and expression is closely related to other rights. It may be limited when conflicting with other rights (see limitations on freedom of speech ). The right to freedom of expression is also related to the right to a fair trial and court proceeding which may limit access to the search for information, or determine

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1320-468: A right to be exercised freely. Such freedom implies the absence of interference from an overreaching state ; its preservation may be sought through a constitution or other legal protection and security. It is in opposition to paid press, where communities, police organizations, and governments are paid for their copyrights. Without respect to governmental information, any government may distinguish which materials are public or protected from disclosure to

1430-600: A second warning from the Russian censorship apparatus Roskomnadzor . On 17 June 2024, a Moscow court issued arrest warrants for IStories editor-in-chief and award-winning investigative reporter Roman Anin and Ekaterina Fomina, a journalist at TV Rain and a former IStories correspondent, on charges of disseminating "false information" about the Russian armed forces in Ukraine. Russia's Interior Ministry added two Russian journalists in exile to its wanted list. Fomina said

1540-417: A third of the world's people live in countries where there is no press freedom. Overwhelmingly, these people live in countries where there is no system of democracy or where there are serious deficiencies in the democratic process. Freedom of the press is an extremely problematic problem/concept for most non-democratic systems of government since, in the modern age, strict control of access to information

1650-441: A victim of Saudi's internet censorship and was facing death sentence. Saudi-controlled media portrayed him as a dangerous preacher due to his Twitter and WhatsApp posts, but dissidents considered him as an important intellectual who maintained strong social media influence. Some legal scholars (such as Tim Wu of Columbia University ) have argued that the traditional issues of free speech—that "the main threat to free speech"

1760-648: Is a fundamental social process, a basic human need and the foundation of all social organisation. It is central to the Information Society . Everyone, everywhere should have the opportunity to participate and no one should be excluded from the benefits of the Information Society offers. According to Bernt Hugenholtz and Lucie Guibault, the public domain is under pressure from the " commodification of information" as information with previously little or no economic value has acquired independent economic value in

1870-604: Is also explicitly protected by acts such as the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act of Ontario, in Canada. The Access to Information Act gives Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and any person or corporation present in Canada a right to access records of government institutions that are subject to the Act. The concept of freedom of information has emerged in response to state sponsored censorship, monitoring and surveillance of

1980-536: Is also illegal in some countries. Apostasy has been instrumentalized to restrict freedom of speech in some countries. In some countries, blasphemy is a crime. For example, in Austria, defaming Muhammad , the prophet of Islam, is not protected as free speech. In contrast, in France, blasphemy and disparagement of Muhammad are protected under free speech law. Certain public institutions may also enact policies restricting

2090-468: Is both false and potentially dangerous, such as falsely shouting "Fire!" in a theatre and causing a panic . Justifications for limitations to freedom of speech often reference the " harm principle " or the "offence principle". In On Liberty (1859), John Stuart Mill argued that "...there ought to exist the fullest liberty of professing and discussing, as a matter of ethical conviction, any doctrine, however immoral it may be considered". Mill argues that

2200-453: Is considered a landmark in the fight for a free press. Between September 4, 1770 and October 7, 1771 the kingdom of Denmark–Norway had the most unrestricted freedom of press of any country in Europe. This occurred during the regime of Johann Friedrich Struensee , whose second act was to abolish the old censorship laws. However, due to the great amount of mostly anonymous pamphlets published that

2310-412: Is critical to the existence of most non-democratic governments and their associated control systems and security apparatus. To this end, most non-democratic societies employ state-run news organizations to promote the propaganda critical to maintaining an existing political power base and suppress (often very brutally, through the use of police, military, or intelligence agencies) any significant attempts by

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2420-434: Is known to subjectively measure the level of freedom and editorial independence that is enjoyed by the press in every nation and significant disputed territories around the world. Levels of freedom are scored on a scale from 1 (most free) to 100 (least free). Depending on the basics, the nations are then classified in three types: 1. "Free" 2. "Partly Free" 3. "Not Free". A free and independent press has been theorized to be

2530-448: Is obliged to help any speakers publish their views, and no one is required to listen to, agree with, or acknowledge the speaker or the speaker's views. These concepts correspond to earlier traditions of natural law and common law rights. Freedom of speech is understood to be fundamental in a democracy. The norms on limiting freedom of expression mean that public debate may not be completely suppressed even in times of emergency. One of

2640-619: Is one of the most precious of the rights of man. Every citizen may, accordingly, speak, write, and print with freedom, but shall be responsible for such abuses of this freedom as shall be defined by law. Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , adopted in 1948, states that: Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. Today, freedom of speech, or

2750-583: Is the " Great Firewall of China " (in reference both to its role as a network firewall and the ancient Great Wall of China ). The system blocks content by preventing IP addresses from being routed through and consists of standard firewall and proxy servers at the internet gateways . The system also selectively engages in DNS poisoning when particular sites are requested. The government does not appear to be systematically examining Internet content, as this appears to be technically impractical. Internet censorship in

2860-426: Is the censorship of "suppressive states", and that "ill-informed or malevolent speech" can and should be overcome by "more and better speech" rather than censorship—assumes scarcity of information. This scarcity prevailed during the 20th century, but with the arrival of the internet, information became plentiful, "but the attention of listeners" scarce. Furthermore, in the words of Wu, this "cheap speech" made possible by

2970-426: Is understood as a multi-faceted right that includes not only the right to express, or disseminate, information and ideas but three further distinct aspects: International, regional and national standards also recognise that freedom of speech, as the freedom of expression, includes any medium, whether orally, in writing, in print, through the internet or art forms. This means that the protection of freedom of speech as

3080-724: The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (since 2000) as well as the European Convention on Human Rights (since 1950). Within the EU enlargement process, guaranteeing media freedom is named a "key indicator of a country's readiness to become part of the EU". According to the New York Times , "Britain has a long tradition of a free, inquisitive press", but "[u]nlike the United States, Britain has no constitutional guarantee of press freedom." Freedom of

3190-646: The Eurasia Foundation , the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the National Endowment for Democracy , the Open Society Institute , and friends of ICFJ. Free press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic media , especially published materials , should be considered

3300-505: The Golden Shield Project , an initiative by Chinese government's Ministry of Public Security that filters potentially unfavourable data from foreign countries. Facebook routinely and automatically eliminates what it perceives as hate speech, even if such words are used ironically or poetically with no intent to insult others. The Human Rights Measurement Initiative measures the right to opinion and expression for countries around

3410-781: The ICCPR later amends this by stating that the exercise of these rights carries "special duties and responsibilities" and may "therefore be subject to certain restrictions" when necessary "[f]or respect of the rights or reputation of others" or "[f]or the protection of national security or public order (ordre public), or of public health or morals ". Freedom of speech and expression, therefore, may not be recognized as being absolute, and common limitations or boundaries to freedom of speech relate to libel , slander , obscenity , pornography , sedition , incitement , fighting words , hate speech , classified information , copyright violation , trade secrets , food labeling , non-disclosure agreements ,

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3520-751: The Internet . The Communications Decency Act (CDA) of 1996 was the first major attempt by the United States Congress to regulate pornographic material on the Internet. In 1997, in the landmark cyberlaw case of Reno v. ACLU , the US Supreme Court partially overturned the law. Judge Stewart R. Dalzell , one of the three federal judges who in June 1996 declared parts of the CDA unconstitutional, in his opinion stated

3630-907: The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation , now also receives support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation . The International Journalists’ Network (IJNet) is an online service that provides information on a wide range of training opportunities to a global network of journalists and media development organizations. The site offers social networking tools, discussion spaces, and forums. IJNet also sends weekly email bulletins in Arabic, English, Chinese, Persian, Portuguese, Russia, and Spanish to more than 71,000 media professionals. IJNet keeps track of media training and other assistance efforts in 150 countries, enabling donors and journalism training organizations to maximize resources and avoid duplication. Support for IJNet comes from

3740-501: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international human rights law by the United Nations . Many countries have constitutional law that protects free speech. Terms like free speech , freedom of speech, and freedom of expression are used interchangeably in political discourse. However, in a legal sense, the freedom of expression includes any activity of seeking, receiving, and imparting information or ideas, regardless of

3850-503: The Whigs or the Tories , and that they were "essentially and indispensably necessary" to the parties' operations. John Stuart Mill in 1869 in his book On Liberty approached the problem of authority versus liberty from the viewpoint of a 19th-century utilitarian : The individual has the right of expressing himself so long as he does not harm other individuals. The good society is one in which

3960-438: The right to privacy in the context of the Internet and information technology . As with the right to freedom of expression, the right to privacy is a recognised human right and freedom of information acts as an extension to this right. Freedom of information may also concern censorship in an information technology context, i.e., the ability to access Web content , without censorship or restrictions. Freedom of information

4070-452: The right to privacy , dignity , the right to be forgotten , public security , blasphemy and perjury . Justifications for such include the harm principle , proposed by John Stuart Mill in On Liberty , which suggests that "the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others". The idea of

4180-605: The " Information Society " in stating: We reaffirm, as an essential foundation of the Information society, and as outlined in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, that everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; that this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. Communication

4290-426: The "offense principle" is also used to justify speech limitations, describing the restriction on forms of expression deemed offensive to society, considering factors such as extent, duration, motives of the speaker, and ease with which it could be avoided. With the evolution of the digital age , application of freedom of speech becomes more controversial as new means of communication and restrictions arise, for example,

4400-483: The "true Church of England , at this moment, lies in the Editors of its Newspapers. These preach to the people daily, weekly; admonishing kings themselves; advising peace or war, with an authority which only the first Reformers , and a long-past class of Popes , were possessed of". Similarly, Charles Dickens , in his Pickwick Papers (1837), caricatured the newspapers as but the "chosen organ and representative" of either

4510-574: The 1590s, and it was affirmed in the Protestation of 1621 . Restating what is written in the English Declaration of Right, 1689 , England's Bill of Rights 1689 legally established the constitutional right of freedom of speech in Parliament, which is still in effect. This so-called parliamentary privilege includes no possible defamation claims meaning Parliamentarians are free to speak up in

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4620-603: The 18th century, until "the Society of the Bill of Rights" led by John Horne Tooke and John Wilkes organized a campaign to publish Parliamentary Debates. This culminated in three defeats of the Crown in the 1770 cases of Almon, Miller and Woodfall , who all had published one of the Letters of Junius , and the unsuccessful arrest of John Wheble in 1771. Thereafter the Crown was much more careful in

4730-519: The COVID-19 pandemic . The First Amendment of the United States Constitution states: Freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship , or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recognised as a human right in

4840-674: The Geneva Conference on Freedom of Information in 1948 but were blocked by the Soviets and the French. Since 1950, the European Convention on Human Rights includes "Article 10" related to Freedom of expression which applies to Member states of the Council of Europe . Media freedom is a fundamental right that applies to all member states of the European Union and its citizens , as defined in

4950-471: The Government can fill that role as well. In my view, our action today should only mean that Government's permissible supervision of Internet contents stops at the traditional line of unprotected speech. [...] The absence of governmental regulation of Internet content has unquestionably produced a kind of chaos, but as one of the plaintiff's experts put it with such resonance at the hearing: "What achieved success

5060-415: The Government of all means of protecting children from the dangers of Internet communication. The Government can continue to protect children from pornography on the Internet through vigorous enforcement of existing laws criminalising obscenity and child pornography . [...] As we learned at the hearing, there is also a compelling need for public educations about the benefits and dangers of this new medium, and

5170-572: The House without fear of legal action. This protection extends to written proceedings: for example, written and oral questions, motions and amendments tabled to bills and motions. One of the world's first freedom of the press acts was introduced in Sweden in 1766 ( Swedish Freedom of the Press Act ), mainly due to the classical liberal member of parliament and Ostrobothnian priest Anders Chydenius . In

5280-416: The Internet can be unfiltered, unpolished, and unconventional, even emotionally charged, sexually explicit, and vulgar – in a word, "indecent" in many communities. But we should expect such speech to occur in a medium in which citizens from all walks of life have a voice. We should also protect the autonomy that such a medium confers to ordinary people as well as media magnates.[...] My analysis does not deprive

5390-614: The National Theater of Craiova to protest Patru's arrest. The 2000s saw the creation of many new media outlets across television, radio, and the traditional press. In 2023, Reporters Without Borders identified safety as a concern for Romanian journalists. More than 120 journalists remained in prison in Turkey in 2019, making it the most prolific incarcerator of journalists in the world. In some countries, including Turkey, journalists were threatened or arrested for their coverage of

5500-600: The People's Republic of China is conducted under a wide variety of laws and administrative regulations, including more than sixty regulations directed at the Internet. Censorship systems are vigorously implemented by provincial branches of state-owned ISPs , business companies, and organizations. Saudi Arabia 's government had been intensifying the scrutiny of social media accounts, under which they were detaining several activists, critics and even normal social media users over few critical tweets. A law professor, Awad Al-Qarni became

5610-698: The Romanian citizenry, was highly illegal and severe repercussions for existed for listening. Directly following the Romanian Revolution , post-communist corruption was largely the subject of investigative reports. At the same time, widespread violence against journalists began. During the June 1990 Mineriad , a series of protests against the National Salvation Front , counter-demonstrators assaulted reporting journalists. In 1992, President Ion Iliescu had

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5720-587: The Russian military and its operations in Ukraine, forcing independent media in Russia to stop reporting on Ukraine or cease operations. At least 1,000 Russian journalists have fled Russia since February 2022. About 85% of Russians get most of their information from Russian state-controlled media. Novaya Gazeta 's editor-in-chief Dmitry Muratov was awarded the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize for his "efforts to safeguard freedom of expression". In March 2022, Novaya Gazeta suspended its print activities after receiving

5830-662: The Worldwide Governance Indicators measure for more than 200 countries. Against this backdrop it is important that development agencies create grounds for effective support for a free press in developing countries. Richard Moon has developed the argument that the value of freedom of speech and freedom of expression lies with social interactions. Moon writes that "by communicating an individual forms relationships and associations with others – family, friends, co-workers, church congregation, and countrymen. By entering into discussion with others an individual participates in

5940-462: The abolition of the king's prerogative to cancel licenses in the 1840s. The US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo , criticized Russia for limiting the activities of VOA and Radio Free Europe in Russia with a governmental order demanding reviewing the subject by Moscow. On 4 March 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law a bill introducing prison sentences of up to 15 years for those who publish "knowingly false information" about

6050-447: The actor, and that it is probably a necessary means to that end". Hence Feinberg argues that the harm principle sets the bar too high and that some forms of expression can be legitimately prohibited by law because they are very offensive. Nevertheless, as offending someone is less serious than harming someone, the penalties imposed should be higher for causing harm. In contrast, Mill does not support legal penalties unless they are based on

6160-526: The application of libel ; for example, in the aftermath of the Peterloo Massacre , Burdett was convicted, whereas by contrast, the Junius affair was over a satire and sarcasm about the non-lethal conduct and policies of the government. In Britain's American colonies, the first editors discovered their readers enjoyed it when they criticised the local governor; the governors discovered they could shut down

6270-459: The arrest warrant would affect her professional life as she would not be able to travel to many countries that could arrest her and extradite her to Russia. Until 1989, Romania was part of the communist bloc as the Socialist Republic of Romania . The communist regime heavily restricted freedom of the press and other civil liberties. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty , though available to

6380-433: The bearer of the general right to freedom of expression for all. However, freedom of the press does not necessarily enable freedom of speech. Judith Lichtenberg has outlined conditions in which freedom of the press may constrain freedom of speech. For example, if all the people who control the various mediums of publication suppress information or stifle the diversity of voices inherent in freedom of speech. This limitation

6490-452: The debate is characterized by a cacophony of competing harm arguments without any way to resolve them. There is no longer an argument within the structure of the debate to resolve the competing claims of harm. The original harm principle was never equipped to determine the relative importance of harms". Interpretations of both the harm and offense limitations to freedom of speech are culturally and politically relative. For instance, in Russia,

6600-616: The development of knowledge and in the direction of the community". Freedom of speech is not regarded as absolute by some, with most legal systems generally setting limits on the freedom of speech, particularly when freedom of speech conflicts with other rights and protections, such as in the cases of libel , slander , pornography , obscenity , fighting words , and intellectual property . Some limitations to freedom of speech may occur through legal sanction, and others may occur through social disapprobation. In Saudi Arabia, journalists are forbidden to write with disrespect or disapproval of

6710-534: The eight countries with the most press freedom are, in order: Norway , Denmark , Sweden , Estonia , Finland , Ireland , Portugal , and Costa Rica . The ten countries with the least press freedom are, in order: North Korea , Eritrea , Iran , Turkmenistan , Myanmar , China , Vietnam , Cuba , Iraq , and Syria . Freedom of the Press is a yearly report by the US-based non-profit organization Freedom House . It

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6820-399: The electorate by withholding information and stifling criticism. Meiklejohn acknowledges that the desire to manipulate opinion can stem from the motive of seeking to benefit society. However, he argues, choosing manipulation negates, in its means, the democratic ideal. Eric Barendt has called this defence of free speech on the grounds of democracy "probably the most attractive and certainly

6930-570: The film industry, from directors to the lowliest assistant, had to sign an oath of loyalty to the Nazi Party due to the opinion-changing power Goebbels perceived movies to have; Goebbels himself maintained some personal control over every single film made in Nazi Europe. Journalists who crossed the Propaganda Ministry were routinely imprisoned. One of the world's first freedom of the press acts

7040-401: The following: The Internet is a far more speech-enhancing medium than print , the village green , or the mails . Because it would necessarily affect the Internet itself, the CDA would necessarily reduce the speech available for adults on the medium. This is a constitutionally intolerable result. Some of the dialogue on the Internet surely tests the limits of conventional discourse. Speech on

7150-609: The freedom of expression, is recognised in international and regional human rights law . The right is enshrined in Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights , Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights , Article 13 of the American Convention on Human Rights and Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights . Based on John Milton 's arguments, freedom of speech

7260-400: The freedom of speech, for example, speech codes at state-operated schools . In the U.S., the standing landmark opinion on political speech is Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969), expressly overruling Whitney v. California . In Brandenburg , the U.S. Supreme Court referred to the right even to speak openly of violent action and revolution in broad terms: [Our] decisions have fashioned

7370-436: The fullest liberty of expression is required to push arguments to their logical limits, rather than the limits of social embarrassment. In 1985, Joel Feinberg introduced what is known as the "offence principle". Feinberg wrote, "It is always a good reason in support of a proposed criminal prohibition that it would probably be an effective way of preventing serious offence (as opposed to injury or harm) to persons other than

7480-810: The globe. In 2006, ICFJ established the ICFJ Founders Award for Excellence in Journalism as a tribute to Winship, Ewing, and Krimsky. This award is presented to a journalist with a long-time commitment to the highest standards of the profession. Past recipients include CBS News ' Bob Schieffer (2006), NBC News ' Tom Brokaw (2007), The New York Times ' John F. Burns (2008), and investigative journalist Seymour Hersh (2009). The Knight International Journalism Fellowships program pairs global media professionals with partner media organizations in countries where there are opportunities for meaningful and measurable change. The program, launched in 1994 with support from

7590-427: The greatest number of persons enjoy the greatest possible amount of happiness. Applying these general principles of liberty to freedom of expression, Mill states that if we silence an opinion, we may silence the truth. The individual freedom of expression is therefore essential to the well-being of society. Mill wrote: The December 1817 Trials of writer and satirist William Hone for publishing three political pamphlets

7700-638: The harm and offense principles have been used to justify the Russian LGBT propaganda law restricting speech (and action) concerning LGBT issues. Many European countries outlaw speech that might be interpreted as Holocaust denial . These include Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, Switzerland and Romania. Armenian genocide denial

7810-412: The harm principle. Because the degree to which people may take offence varies, or may be the result of unjustified prejudice, Feinberg suggests that several factors need to be taken into account when applying the offence principle, including: the extent, duration and social value of the speech, the ease with which it can be avoided, the motives of the speaker, the number of people offended, the intensity of

7920-531: The idea, writing "when as debtors and delinquents may walk abroad without a keeper, but inoffensive books must not stir forth without a visible jailer in their title." Although at the time it did little to halt the practice of licensing, it would be viewed later a significant milestone as one of the most eloquent defenses of press freedom. Milton's central argument was that the individual is capable of using reason and distinguishing right from wrong, and good from bad. In order to be able to exercise this ration right,

8030-407: The individual must have unlimited access to the ideas of his fellow men in "a free and open encounter." Milton's writings developed the concept of the open marketplace of ideas , the idea that when people argue against each other, good arguments will prevail. One form of speech that was widely restricted in Great Britain was seditious libel , and laws were in place that made criticizing the government

8140-415: The information age. This includes factual data, personal data , genetic information and pure ideas . The commodification of information is taking place through intellectual property law, contract law , as well as broadcasting and telecommunications law. Freedom of information is an extension of freedom of speech where the medium of expression is the Internet . Freedom of information may also refer to

8250-418: The internet " ... may be used to attack, harass, and silence as much as it is used to illuminate or debate". The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has argued that "censorship cannot be the only answer to disinformation online" and that tech companies "have a history of overcorrecting and censoring accurate, useful speech—or, even worse, reinforcing misinformation with their policies." According to Wu, in

8360-636: The internet. Internet censorship includes the control or suppression of the publishing or accessing of information on the Internet. The Global Internet Freedom Consortium claims to remove blocks to the "free flow of information" for what they term "closed societies". According to the Reporters without Borders (RWB) "internet enemy list" the following states engage in pervasive internet censorship: Mainland China, Cuba, Iran, Myanmar / Burma , North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkmenistan , Uzbekistan , and Vietnam. A widely publicized example of internet censorship

8470-715: The law may suppress abuses of this freedom. However, Bibles, catechisms, liturgical and prayer books shall not be printed without the prior permission of the Bishop. After the abolition of the monarchy in 1946 and the abrogation of the Statute in 1948, the Constitution of the Republic of Italy guarantees the freedom of the press, as stated in Article 21, Paragraphs 2 and 3: The press may not be subjected to any authorisation or censorship. Seizure may be permitted only by judicial order stating

8580-598: The level of press freedom worldwide. Some create subjective lists, while others are based on quantitative data: Each year, The Committee to Protect Journalists produces a comprehensive list of all working journalists killed in relation to their employment, including profiles of each deceased journalist within an exhaustive database, and an annual census of incarcerated journalists (as of midnight, December 1). The year 2017 reported record findings of jailed journalists, reaching 262. Turkey , China , and Egypt account for more than half of all global journalists jailed. As per

8690-478: The life of journalists. The drop in the murder of in-field journalists came across during the "global attention on the issue of impunity in journalist murders", focusing on the assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in October 2018 and Daphne Caruana Galizia , a Maltese blogger in October 2017. Every year, Reporters Without Borders establishes a subjective ranking of countries in terms of their freedom of

8800-504: The media or individual journalists to challenge the approved "government line" on contentious issues. In such countries, journalists operating on the fringes of what is deemed to be acceptable will very often find themselves the subject of considerable intimidation by agents of the state. This can range from simple threats to their professional careers (firing, professional blacklisting ) to death threats , kidnapping , torture , and assassination . Central, Northern, and Western Europe have

8910-482: The medium used. Article 19 of the UDHR states that "everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference" and "everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice". The version of Article 19 in

9020-401: The most fashionable free speech theory in modern Western democracies". Thomas I. Emerson expanded on this defence when he argued that freedom of speech helps to provide a balance between stability and change . Freedom of speech acts as a "safety valve" to let off steam when people might otherwise be bent on revolution . He argues that "The principle of open discussion is a method of achieving

9130-482: The most notable proponents of the link between freedom of speech and democracy is Alexander Meiklejohn . He has argued that the concept of democracy is that of self-government by the people. For such a system to work, an informed electorate is necessary. In order to be appropriately knowledgeable, there must be no constraints on the free flow of information and ideas. According to Meiklejohn, democracy will not be true to its essential ideal if those in power can manipulate

9240-453: The newspapers. The most dramatic confrontation came in New York in 1734, where the governor brought John Peter Zenger to trial for criminal libel after the publication of satirical attacks. The defense lawyers argued that according to English common law, the truth was a valid defense against libel. The jury acquitted Zenger, who became the iconic American hero for freedom of the press. The result

9350-411: The offence, and the general interest of the community at large. Jasper Doomen argued that harm should be defined from the point of view of the individual citizen, not limiting harm to physical harm since nonphysical harm may also be involved; Feinberg's distinction between harm and offence is criticized as largely trivial. In 1999, Bernard Harcourt wrote of the collapse of the harm principle: "Today

9460-414: The opportunity and means in which freedom of expression is manifested within court proceedings. As a general principle freedom of expression may not limit the right to privacy , as well as the honor and reputation of others. However, greater latitude is given when criticism of public figures is involved. The right to freedom of expression is particularly important for media , which play a special role as

9570-465: The press into its constitution with the Freedom of the Press Act of 1766. Freedom of the press is not construed as an absence of interference by outside entities, such as a government or religious organization, but rather as a right for authors to have their works published by other people. This idea was famously summarized by the 20th-century American journalist , A. J. Liebling , who wrote, "Freedom of

9680-471: The press is guaranteed only to those who own one". Freedom of the press gives the printer or publisher exclusive control over what the publisher chooses to publish, including the right to refuse to print anything for any reason. If the author cannot reach a voluntary agreement with a publisher to produce the author's work, then the author must turn to self-publishing . Beyond legal definitions, several non-governmental organizations use other criteria to judge

9790-459: The press was established in Great Britain in 1695, with Alan Rusbridger , former editor of The Guardian , stating: "When people talk about licensing journalists or newspapers the instinct should be to refer them to history. Read about how licensing of the press in Britain was abolished in 1695. Remember how the freedoms won here became a model for much of the rest of the world, and be conscious of how

9900-553: The press was suppressed in Nazi Germany by the Reichstag Fire Decree of President Paul von Hindenburg , just as Adolf Hitler was coming to power. Hitler suppressed freedom of the press through Joseph Goebbels ' Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda . The Ministry acted as a central control point for all media, issuing orders as to what stories could be run and what stories would be suppressed. Anyone involved in

10010-466: The press. The Press Freedom Index list is based on responses to surveys sent to journalists that are members of partner organizations of the RWB, as well as related specialists such as researchers, jurists, and human rights activists. The survey asks questions about direct attacks on journalists and the media and other indirect sources of pressure against the free press, such as non-governmental groups. In 2022,

10120-828: The principle of public access to official records in Sweden. Excluded were defamation of the king's majesty and the Swedish Church . The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen , adopted during the French Revolution in 1789, specifically affirmed freedom of speech as an inalienable right. Adopted in 1791, freedom of speech is a feature of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution . The French Declaration provides for freedom of expression in Article 11, which states that: The free communication of ideas and opinions

10230-456: The principle that the constitutional guarantees of free speech and free press do not allow a State to forbid or proscribe advocacy of the use of force or law violation except where such advocacy is directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action and is likely to incite or cause such action. The opinion in Brandenburg discarded the previous test of "clear and present danger" and made

10340-400: The process of accountability that follows it, have a significant impact on the quality of governance of a country. "Voice and Accountability" within a country, defined as "the extent to which a country's citizens are able to participate in selecting their government , as well as freedom of expression, freedom of association , and free media " is one of the six dimensions of governance that

10450-502: The public and affect the quality of democracy". An independent press "serves to increase political knowledge, participation, and voter turnout ", acting as an essential driver of civic participation. Turkey , China , Egypt , Eritrea , and Saudi Arabia accounted for 70% of all journalists that were imprisoned in 2018. CPJ reported that "After China, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, the worst jailers are Eritrea, Vietnam, and Iran." According to Reporters Without Borders , more than

10560-522: The public. State materials are protected due to either one of two reasons: the classification of information as sensitive, classified, or secret, or the relevance of the information to protecting the national interest . Many governments are also subject to " sunshine laws " or freedom of information legislation that define the ambit of national interest and enable citizens to request access to government-held information. The United Nations ' 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: "Everyone has

10670-858: The reason and only for offences expressly determined by the law on the press or in case of violation of the obligation to identify the persons responsible for such offences. The Constitution allows the warrantless confiscation of periodicals in cases of absolute urgency, when the Judiciary cannot timely intervene, on the condition that a judicial validation must be obtained within 24 hours. Article 21 also gives restrictions against those publications considered offensive by public morality , as stated in Paragraph 6: Publications, performances, and other exhibits offensive to public morality shall be prohibited. Measures of preventive and repressive measure against such violations shall be established by law. In 1933, freedom of

10780-664: The right to freedom of (political) speech protections in the United States almost absolute. Hate speech is also protected by the First Amendment in the United States, as decided in R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul , (1992) in which the Supreme Court ruled that hate speech is permissible, except in the case of imminent violence. See the First Amendment to the United States Constitution for more detailed information on this decision and its historical background. Limitations based on time, place, and manner apply to all speech, regardless of

10890-443: The right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference, and to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers." This philosophy is usually accompanied by legislation ensuring various degrees of freedom of scientific research (known as scientific freedom ), publishing, and the press. The depth to which these laws are entrenched in

11000-587: The rights of government, and their responsibilities. Education and ethical conduct would be crushed; coarseness in thought, speech, and manners would prevail, and dimness would darken the entire sky of our freedom in a few years. Under the leadership of Anders Chydenius, the Caps at the Swedish Riksdag in Gävle on December 2, 1766, passed the adoption of a freedom of the press regulation that stopped censorship and introduced

11110-520: The royal family, religion, or the government. Journalists are also not given any legal protection for their writing in Saudi Arabia. Journalist Jamal Khashoggi was a critic of the Saudi Arabian government. He was killed in 2018 by Saudi Arabian officials for his writing. Some views are illegal to express because they are perceived by some to be harmful to others. This category often includes speech that

11220-620: The time, place and manner outlook to protest funeral proceedings. Because of recent flare ups of this occurring, legislation has been put to action to limit this. Now, funeral protests are governed and prohibited by law on a state-to-state basis inside the United States. Jo Glanville, editor of the Index on Censorship , states that "the Internet has been a revolution for censorship as much as for free speech". International, national and regional standards recognise that freedom of speech, as one form of freedom of expression, applies to any medium, including

11330-461: The view expressed. They are generally restrictions that are intended to balance other rights or a legitimate government interest . For example, a time, place, and manner restriction might prohibit a noisy political demonstration at a politician's home during the middle of the night, as that impinges upon the rights of the politician's neighbors to quiet enjoyment of their own homes. An otherwise identical activity might be permitted if it happened at

11440-541: The world still watches us to see how we protect those freedoms." Until 1694, Great Britain had an elaborate system of licensing ; the most recent was seen in the Licensing of the Press Act, 1662 . No publication was allowed without the accompaniment of a government-granted license. Fifty years earlier, at a time of civil war , John Milton wrote his pamphlet Areopagitica (1644). In this work Milton argued forcefully against this form of government censorship and parodied

11550-460: The world, using a survey of in-country human rights experts. Freedom of speech and expression has a long history that predates modern international human rights instruments . It is thought that the ancient Athenian democratic principle of free speech may have emerged in the late 6th or early 5th century BC. Freedom of speech was vindicated by Erasmus and Milton . Edward Coke claimed freedom of speech as "an ancient custom of Parliament" in

11660-564: Was an emerging tension between the media and the government. By the mid-1760s, there were 24 weekly newspapers in the 13 colonies, and the satirical attack on the government became common features in American newspapers. In the Victorian era , the press became more influential than it had been previously, to the dismay of some readers. Thomas Carlyle , in his essay " Signs of the Times " (1829), said that

11770-620: Was critical and often slanderous towards Struensee's own regime, he reinstated some restrictions regarding the freedom of press a year later, October 7, 1771. After the Italian unification in 1861, the Albertine Statute of 1848 was adopted as the constitution of the Kingdom of Italy . The Statute granted the freedom of the press with some restrictions in case of abuses and in religious matters, as stated in Article 28: The press shall be free, but

11880-419: Was famously summarised as "Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one". Lichtenberg argues that freedom of the press is simply a form of property right summed up by the principle "no money, no voice". Freedom of speech is usually seen as a negative right . This means that the government is legally obliged to take no action against the speaker based on the speaker's views, but that no one

11990-503: Was introduced in Sweden in 1766 ( Swedish Freedom of the Press Act ), due in part to classical liberal member of parliament, Ostrobothnian priest, Anders Chydenius . Excepted and liable to prosecution was only vocal opposition to the king and the Church of Sweden . The act was largely rolled back after King Gustav 's coup d'état in 1772, restored after the overthrowing of his son, Gustav IV of Sweden in 1809, and fully recognized with

12100-435: Was the very chaos that the Internet is. The strength of the Internet is chaos." Just as the strength of the Internet is chaos, so that strength of our liberty depends upon the chaos and cacophony of the unfettered speech the First Amendment protects. The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Declaration of Principles adopted in 2003 makes specific reference to the importance of the right to freedom of expression for

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