Our Fundamental Rights of Freedom of
Speech & Press
by the Electronic Frontier
Foundation
The new
networked society has created a platform, which will allow every person to speak
their mind and query the world to create their own point of view. Never before
have we had the ability to have the breadth and scope of opinion and voice --
it's a gift of innovation to be cherished and protected.
Over 50 years ago, well before the age of what's now possible,
the United Nations expressed the importance of this ability in the Universal
Declarations of Human Rights, Article 19. "Everyone has the right to
freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes the freedom to hold
opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and
ideas through any means regardless of frontiers." Just as the US First
Amendment holding free speech to be a right, the world has long considered
expression vital to society.
In the information age these rights are continually challenged
from one side of the globe to the other. Consider the current Australian
censorship laws, which require a global lens to be turned on, or the now
defunct US Communications
Decency Act that EFF helped overturn. Whether through fear or lack of
understanding we continue to see challenges to these fundamental human rights.
Citizens around the globe, be they parents, educators,
business leaders or government officials, all need to focus on the great
importance of this right, as eloquently stated in the 1996 Third Circuit
decision of ACLU v Reno. "Some of the dialogue on the Internet will test
the limits of conventional discourse. Speech on 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 where citizens of 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 magnets."
We need to learn and think about the how best to preserve
these rights, educate our children and our society as a whole. These are not
easy issues but together we can ensure we have created a digital society where
the most fundamental values are not only preserved but also delighted in.
Related Links:
Electronic Frontier
Foundation
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