12/24/2023 0 Comments Dom of speech assembly and associationIn order to decide who to vote for, they need to understand how well a political party has performed while in power and whether or not they fulfilled their election promises.īy reporting on society’s most pressing social issues, media outlets and civil society organisations (CSOs) contribute to the public’s perception of how well the government is doing. When it comes to elections, citizens are given the opportunity to hold their politicians accountable. This deters people from abusing their power, which helps everyone in the long run. Safeguarding freedom of speech encourages people to speak out, which makes it easier to tackle systemic issues from the inside. This can only happen if people feel safe vocalizing the issues affecting their communities. To enable citizens to make meaningful decisions about how they want society to function, they need access to truthful and accurate information about a wide variety of topics. This exchange of ideas and opinions isn’t just a once off on election day, rather it is an on-going two-way communication which happens throughout a government’s term. For this to happen successfully, citizens should be able to speak freely and openly about how they would like to be governed and criticize those who are in power. Why is freedom of speech important in a democracy? Why is it a core principle?ĭemocracy’s goal is to have a plural and tolerant society. Therefore, someone who engages in criminalised forms of speech such as hate speech, terrorist content or child pornography cannot defend themselves by relying on their right to freedom of expression. The limitations must meet two conditions: 1) they are proportional - the limitations are no stronger than needed to achieve their aim 2) they are necessary and genuinely fulfill objectives in the interest of the general public or are needed to protect the rights and freedoms of others. Like all fundamental rights the right to freedom of expression is not absolute, meaning it can be subject to limitations provided they have a legal basis. However, the definition of free speech does not protect every kind of speech.
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