Scope of “Freedom of Speech and Expression” In India: In many cases the Supreme Court of India has reiterated the need to protect the fundamental right of freedom of speech and expression. Almost all Constitutions of democratic nations including India have given prime place to the right to free speech. About two decades ago while addressing the Newspaper Society, famous Indian jurist Nani Palkhivala observed: “Freedom is to the Press what oxygen is to the human being; it is the essential condition of its survival. To talk of a democracy without a free press is a contradiction in terms. A free press is not an optional extra in a democracy.”15 The freedom of speech and expression is regarded as the first condition of liberty.17 The Preamble of the Constitution of India itself secures, to the people, the liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship. Free speech is one of the most coveted fundamental rights in the world. In India, the freedom of speech and expression is protected under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India. This is part of the basic fundamental rights. Though the Indian Constitution does not use the expression “freedom of press” in Article 19, but it has been included in one of the guarantees in Article 19(1) (a). This has been done by the wide interpretation given to this right by the able judiciary of the country. Freedom of press has always been regarded as an essential pre-requisite of a democratic form of
Section 2(b) guarantees freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including the freedom of the press and other media of
Does the First Amendment, Free Expression Clause, apply to the New York State law against Criminal Anarchy, depriving Giltow of his liberty of expression under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment? Benjamin Gitlow, a member of the Socialist Party of America, advocated the overthrow of organized government by force, violence, and other unlawful means through his Left Wing Manifesto. He was arrested and charged with criminal Anarchy, “the policy that organized government should be overthrown by force or violence... or by any unlawful means. The advocacy of such doctrine either by word of mouth or writing is a felony”. Gitlow argued that the New York law was an unconstitutional limit forced by the state on the rights guaranteed
“[The press] were not carriers of ideals,” According to Robert G. Parkinson, “but rather tools of propaganda to dupe an unsuspecting public into ratifying policies that lined the pockets of political and economic elites”. (Parkinson). In Parkinson’s opinion, the press used sneaky tactics in order to trick the people into agreeing with their views, which wasn’t always false. There are many examples of press creating depicting images that sway its viewers towards their beliefs, especially when it came to passing certain governmental issues.
Another limitation that does not protect citizens under the First Amendment is using fighting words that disturb the peace. In April 1940, Walter Chaplinsky was in downtown in Rochester, New Hampshire handing out literature and speaking publicly about religion. As Chaplinsky continued to talk, the crowd continued to grow, blocking the streets and disturbing the area. The public around him became upset with Chaplinsky as he began to denounce religion as “racket”.
I don’t think that the press should be censored or stopped in anyway, because in my own opinion the press is the only way that people find out about major news stories and scandals. I am also a strong pro-choice advocate and believe that abortion should be legalized throughout the country and remain that way. A woman should be allowed to get an abortion is she wants to and I don’t find it right for people to want to take that right
First Amendment The First Amendment is considered by many to be the most important amendment in the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights includes the first ten amendments of the Constitution of the United States of America. The First Amendment claims “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.” This is broken down into six elements: no official religion, free exercise of religion, free speech, free press, freedom of assembly, and redress of grievances.
A further consideration that must be taken into account while evaluating this case is that of time, place, and manner restrictions. Such restrictions are a sort of measuring stick when it comes to these types of freedom of speech issues. If a group or individual does not comply with time, place, and manner restrictions, their actions are no longer protected by the First Amendment. Meanwhile, if these restrictions are adhered to, a party has the constitutional right to voice their viewpoints.
Censorship of The First Amendment This paper will discuss how censorship denies citizens of the United States our full rights as delineated in the First Amendment. It will outline how and why the first amendment was created and included in the Constitution of the United States of America. This paper will also define censorship, discuss a select few legal cases surrounding freedom of speech and censorship as well as provide national and local examples of censorship.
The freedoms of speech and of press are quintessential American rights, afford to it’s citizens through the ratification of the first amendment on December 15, 1791. These rights protect the voices of minority's, inform citizens, preserve the truth and create a watchdog for government corruption. Although these rights are toted in high esteem by most Americans, most are unaware these freedoms are not absolute and poses limitations. Such limitations sometimes include speech that criticizes the government. Throughout American history freedom of expression seem to be treated
Freedom of expression is one of the laws the forefathers of America made to empower its citizens and also enables them to live in peace amongst themselves. In most countries around the world, freedom of expression does not exist, so there is always war in those countries. In the article “Why the First Amendment (and Journalism) Might Be in Trouble”, the authors, Ken Dautrich, chair of the Public Policy at the University of Connecticut and John Bare, who is the vice president for strategic planning and evaluation at the Arthur M. Blank Family foundation in Atlanta, conducted a research study on the importance of freedom of speech. They used their research findings to support freedom of expressions. They employed claim of policy, claim of fact and also appeal to pathos and logos in their argument of the importance of the freedom of speech.
Censorship in America can vary between the silencing of young voices and the prevention of exposing others of inappropriate material. Many people are afraid of losing their freedom of speech, as first amendment rights should be mandatory for American citizens. Polar to this argument insists the importance of censorship, as it can shield the public from information that can lead to fear or chaos. Leaving students ignorant to world problems, however, is argued by Sonja West that it removes their first amendment rights and creates a future working-class of Americans who are clouded from the truth. West is a law professor at the University of Georgia who is distinguished for her expertise in the first amendment law and minor in journalism.
The JFK Assassination was and is still a controversial topic in the U.S. On Friday, November 22, 1963, in Texas, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated by a man named Oswald. Conspiracy theories surrounding the assassination of JFK are a healthy bi-product of a democratic society showing that the people of the U.S. are well informed when they do such things as questioning the government about its representation of the assassination. A conspiracy theory is another perspective of what really happened at many of the most important events that have ever happened in the US; Like the JFK assassination.
A media source which ignores or censors important issues and events severely damages freedom of information. Many modern tabloids, twenty four hour news channels and other mainstream media sources have increasingly been criticized for not conforming to general standards of journalistic integrity. In nations described as authoritarian by most international think-tanks and NGOs media ownership is generally something very close to the complete state control over information in direct or indirect ways. Undesirable consequences which occur due to media imperialism are: • Commercially driven ultra-powerful mass market media is primarily loyal to sponsors i.e. advertisers and government rather than to the public interest.
Malaysian has the right to freedom of speech which is guaranteed by Article 10 of the Constitution of Malaysia. The Article 10 allows all citizens the absolute freedom as not restricted by the government. In Malaysia, Law such as Publications act and printing presses give the Malaysian authorities the control over all the media. Any act that against this law may lead to fines or in much extreme cases, prison sentence. Although Malaysia has the right to freedom of speech, the media are still being controlled by the government which restrict them to publish anything against the government.
But the positive interaction of government-press-society does not mean that each party must lose the function of its functional idealism. For if each existence is not approached with independent and interdependent responsibilities and obligations, it can be ascertained that each party will not be able to assume its rights and responsibilities. It means that the government should be given authority, as an authorized and responsible body to regulate the interests and spheres of its citizens. The press must remain authorized to carry out its distinctive social control functions.