Diritti Umani e Social Media

This elaborate will discuss the right to freedom of expression as it is a fundamental human right that belongs to every individual. It is a crucial right because it does not only allow everyone to express their opinions and ideas, but also it enables people to acquire knowledge and be able to confront with others through discussions and dialogues. Furthermore, the right to freedom of expression is one of the pillars of a democratic society, whereby individuals may contribute to the social development because the free exchange of ideas is the best tool to reach the truth and figure out what actually benefits the society as a whole, by also promoting and safeguarding human rights. The right to freedom of expression is not only protected by several international conventions such as the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and others. Moreover, it is interconnected to other fundamental human rights, and therefore it is necessary that state authorities and governments strike the right balance between them. However, freedom of speech may be restricted under very specific and limited circumstances and there is a wide margin of appreciation with regard to comments and discourses which may appear to be harmful or put in danger groups of minorities. For this reason, the Courts evaluate the cases in their uniqueness and singularity, ascertaining the details and circumstances of each of them. Notwithstanding the importance of this right, it has many negative facets, such as the spread of fake news, the intrusion of privacy of individuals, hate speech, which will be all analysed throughout the elaborate, especially with regard to the ever-increasing technological tools and social media platforms. Precisely, the three chapters in which it is divided will go through a general international introduction on what is the right to freedom of expression; the conventions that protect it; the limits imposed on it and those unjustly applied; the misuses of this fundamental right in accordance with the right to privacy; and hate speech. Furthermore, throughout the analysis, some case law will be examined in order to give a more realistic conception of the different topics.