Free Expression and the Internet
Aside from supporting freedom of expression for others, Freedom has been in the forefront of reporting on issues which directly concern the freedom itself.
During the 1990s, freedom of expression has extended to include the computerization of the way we live, work, and conduct our day to day affairs. Due to its capability for instantaneous global communication, the Internet has provided a new frontier for free speech and its protection within the parameters of responsibility and lawfulness. For the same reason, it has also put freedom of speech to its most crucial test.
The right to one’s own thoughts and their disposition is a fundamental human right. Authors, artists, designers, and the myriad of others in creative and intellectual fields have the right to share their words or ideas with others or not. If they choose to share them, they also have the right to control the way in which they may be shared. In this way, intellectual property rights and free expression are inextricably linked.
Freedom has championed the application of existing laws regarding intellectual property rights to the Internet, and supported responsible self-restraint by individual users.
Self-policing by Internet users is ultimately the means by which to ensure continued freedom from over-regulation. However, Freedom has expressed the view that some regulation may become necessary if free speech is abused, thus has also presented the view that existing intellectual property laws be applied where necessary to those who violate the rights of others. Freedom of speech means neither the freedom to steal, nor the right to claim another’s speech as one’s own, nor to copy another’s writing and sell it or give it away without the author’s permission.
Freedom has also informed officials, community leaders, and the media on copyright issues pertaining to the Internet, including its in-depth coverage of court cases that are setting precedents for the protection of intellectual property rights on the Internet.
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