Freedom of speech

Freedom of speech is often regarded as an integral concept in modern liberal democracies, where it is understood to outlaw censorship. Free speech is nowadays also protected by international human rights law, notably under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, although implementation remains lacking in many countries.

The Internet

The development of the Internet opened new possibilities for achieving freedom of speech using methods that do not depend on legal measures. Pseudonymity and data havens (such as Freenet) allow free speech, as the technology guarantees that material cannot be removed (censored).

Related Topics:
Internet - Pseudonymity - Data haven - Freenet

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Websites which fall foul of government censors in other countries are often re-hosted on a server in a country with no such restrictions. Given that the United States has in many respects the least restrictive governmental policies in the world on freedom of speech, many of these websites re-host their content on an American server and thus escape censorship while remaining available to their target audience. This is especially the case with neo-nazi and other sites promoting racial hatred, since these are prohibited in a number of European countries.

Related Topics:
Neo-nazi - European

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The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is an organization dedicated to protecting freedom of speech on the Internet.

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The US Government has attempted some regulation of certain acts and speech on the Internet. See also US v. Baker.

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