The right to freedom of opinion and expression in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights - a contemporary perspective

• Autores: Jedrzej Skrzypczak
• Localización: Current Issues On Human Rights / coord. por Alexander Sungurov, Carlos R. Fernández Liesa, María del Carmen Barranco Avilés, María Cruz Llamazares Calzadilla, Óscar Pérez de la Fuente, 2020, ISBN 978-84-1324-552-2, págs. 81-92
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • Freedom of speech is one of elementary and fundamental human rights, constituting the basis for the functioning of democratic societies and, at the same time, an indispensable condition for the development of the state and the individual. Such a thesis is substantiated in Art. 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The 70th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration prompts us to re-examine the content of Art. 19 in the context of the digital revolution and the dynamic development of the internet, and my paper will be devoted to this.

    For it is noticed that there are numerous differences in the way of using freedom of speech in public space, traditional media and on the internet. The internet was developing in the spirit of freedom from all control. Almost from its very beginning, it was treated as a common good of all users. The necessity to undertake actions aimed at counteracting the intensified appearance of harmful, dangerous and illegal contents was relatively quickly observed. The discussion about the possibility of qualifying the internet space as a public space has been going on for many years. All the more so because new media technologies provide technical opportunities for tracking and invigilating everyone.

    In this context, it seems necessary to re-examine the content of Art. 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It must be borne in mind that the specifics of "new media" depend, among others, on the fact that it is the users themselves who play a significant role in shaping and disseminating content, and thus they can also carry out effective actions for the freedom of speech. On the other hand, there are concerns about the possibility of violation of civil liberties by arbitrarily interfering in users' statements by internet portal administrators. Such phenomena as fake news (disinformation) may pose significant threats to freedom of speech, but ways to fight these phenomena may be an excuse to introduce institutional censorship.