The Speakers’ Corner in London’s Hyde Park has been a symbol of Britain’s centuries-old commitment to freedom of speech.
However, within Europe, free speech on the Internet is not as free as free speech on the streets or, at Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park.
Anyone visiting the park can stand on the step-ladder, on a Sunday afternoon and engage in speaking their mind. You can get away even by making acerbic statements with groups of people clustered around you, free of the guilt of slander, libel and vilification. But when it comes to free speech on the Internet, you could end up being prosecuted in most countries of Europe, including Britain, where the laws limit free expression.
In several member states of the EU, there have been convictions for posting “abhorrently offensive” material on FaceBook and Twitter.
Judgments in these cases have fundamentally found the perpetrators culpable of “hateful, disgusting or insulting” statements and actions which run counter to the “general societal norms”.
The shifting nature of public discourse within European societies has opened the debate on free expression. But, the crucial point is that restriction on free speech in Europe is reasonable, proportionate, and limited, and a leaning in favour of ‘free expression’ is the norm.
The value of free speech encapsulated in Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights as ‘freedom of expression’ is arguably the most established and unchanging of Europe’s political values.
In some cases involving incitement to violence, there are questions about whether the response of the authorities has been proportionate. In fact, on the face of it, one finds horribly chilling effects arising from prosecutions for offensive speech.
However, rulings in some other cases, including what social media refer to as “Twitter Joke Trial” quoted Shakespeare for emphasis: “They are free to speak not what they ought to say, but what they feel.”
Laws Fine-Tuned to Internet
There are now adequate laws within Europe that criminalise hate speech, racism and, gross minimisation or justification of crimes against humanity, child pornography, incitement to terrorism, obscene and sexually explicit content, libel, and the expression of views perceived to be encouraging extremism.
A considerable number of legal provisions have been introduced and existing provisions have been amended within the past few years.
Within Europe, there is already evidence of a wide variety of lawsuits where social media intruded into the office space.
An employee “poked” by a supervisor has given rise to a sexual harassment claim.
Further, an employer may not be able to annul a job offer to an employee after learning via Facebook that the applicant is of a particular religion or sexual orientation.
Unlike in the US, which has an absolutist position on all speech except incitement to violence and individual harm, free speech in Europe is a more relativist position which does not consider hate speech, for instance, to be covered by the right to freedom of speech.
Therefore, in the grey area of >social networking communication and the law, the line between comments made in jest with no intent or capacity to harm and ones that may amount to a criminal offence has become hard to draw. The boundaries between what is public and what is private too, have become blurred.
So, tweeting an insipid joke meant for a group of (virtual) friends and, which would before social media be shared in a private context or, through a one-on-one email, has now suddenly become very public, at times amplified by the media into the mainstream public sphere.
It’s time that India draws the line between what is deemed acceptable and what is not, in terms of transgressive speech by individuals and even politicians.
After all, explosion of the Internet and cell-phone in India has made it virtually impossible to resist the temptation to reveal what is on one’s mind.
That said, there are certain times when you are generally better off keeping your thoughts to yourself.
(The author is former Europe Director, CII, and lives in Cologne, Germany. blfeedback@thehindu.co.in)