To Be or Not To Be Free - Essay Example

26 December To Be or Not To Be Free The Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression has been recognized universally by the United Nations Human Rights Council; as stated in the United Nations Human Rights Declaration, “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.”1 Therefore, with accordance to this laid down Right, it is evident that every human being has the right of speaking his or her mind and opinions and may not being barred from doing so without any proper moral justification. There are certain limitations to the usage of this Right in order to keep with the principles of ethics and non violence so as to not give way to any kind of minor or major strife between persons or States due to the overuse or misuse of this particular Right. This statement does entail a person to free press to an extent however, as mentioned above, not to such an extent that it might cause harm or any sort of mental or physical damage to another individual or interfere with his or her daily life. Some examples of staying within the purview of such free expression would be libel and slander. These two terms depict unreasonable interference with an individual’s daily living and, thus, are punishable in the eyes of law despite a person having his or her own Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression. (Harry Kalven, Jr) What kind of a world would we be living in if we did not possess certain rights to voice our own opinions? However, one must question themselves and rephrase this interrogation once again: What kind of a world would we be living in if we did not keep a check on or misuse the Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression? Therefore, with reference to this, there have been certain changes made in the European Union Charter with regard to Property laws as well. According to Article 17 of the EU, “No one may use the rights guaranteed by the Convention to seek the abolition or limitation of rights guaranteed in the Convention. This addresses instances where states seek to restrict a human right in the name of another human right, or where individuals rely on a human right to undermine other human rights (for example, where an individual issues a death threat).”2 Taking a look at the use of property that comes under it, it has been also stated in the EU that: 1. Everyone has the right to own, use, dispose of and bequeath his or her lawfully acquired possessions. No one may be deprived of his or her possessions, except in the public interest and in the cases and under the conditions provided for by law, subject to fair compensation being paid in good time for their loss. The use of property may be regulated by law insofar as is necessary for the general interest. 2. Intellectual property shall be protected.3 Therefore, according to this, it is clear that even though a person might have Rights regarding Speech and expression, he or she is not permitted by law to use those rights to undermine the rights of another person. This holds true for property rights as stated above as well. Some might feel that it causes a level of hindrance to their personal rights; however, it is in the interest of the UNHRC to protect and preserve the rights of different individuals while making sure that they do not hamper with the rights of others or interfere with them in any way. Every individual has the right and guarantee to enjoy his or her own property and possessions without being interfered or intervened without any proper cause or justification by other people, and the person doing so without proper reason is definitely, thus, subject to some sort of punishment. The basic purpose of providing people with a Right to their own Freedom with respect to speech and expression is for the main aim of having a free flow of information in order to maintain a fairly democratic society on this planet. This has been done for the benefit of people and to make them aware of all that they are entitled to for their own purpose or protection from others that have a potential to causing them any kind of harm. Cyberspace is a recently developed platform where information flows faster than the speed of lightning. People are able to gather data and facts form any corner of the world within a matter of seconds. However, such freedom has to be curtailed at a certain point so as to not let it go out of hand. People have their own profiles on social networking websites and the use of e-mailing has gone even higher than before. However, despite this, agencies like the NSA, National Security Agency, have programmed satellite technology to catch on to any kind of e-mails or written articles and notes in cyberspace that contain words like “terror”, “attacks” and “weapons” to name a few. Such written material is then sent over to their websites and everything is tracked down in order to ensure that the government has a hold on any kind of potential damage that might take place. Some might wonder that this includes a certain blockage of a person’s rights in terms of expressing themselves, however, it has been noted in numerous cases that such rights are violated and misused by people to carry on illegal activities. That is why cyberspace is extremely protected, so as to say, in a way. (Goodman, Carey) Moving to the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States, it states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”4 Thus, in keeping with this, in my opinion, the HRC Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression is completely compatible with this (while keeping in mind a few minor glitches here and there), as both the laws consist of protection of human rights with certain limitation for the benefit of the people. Works Cited Kalven, Harry Jr. A Worthy Tradition: Freedom of Speech in America. 1988. Print. Goodman, Carey. Cyberspace, Free Expression, and Who Monitors It. 2003. Print. Read More