Definitions for freedom of speech
free·dom of speech

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:1.0 / 1 vote

1. freedom of speechnoun

   a civil right guaranteed by the First Amendment to the US Constitution

WiktionaryRate this definition:2.5 / 2 votes

1. freedom of speechnoun

   The right of citizens to speak, or otherwise communicate, without fear of harm or prosecution.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Freedom of speech

   Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recognised as a human right in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international human rights law by the United Nations. Many countries have constitutional law that protects free speech. Terms like free speech, freedom of speech, and freedom of expression are used interchangeably in political discourse. However, in a legal sense, the freedom of expression includes any activity of seeking, receiving, and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used. Article 19 of the UDHR states that "everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference" and "everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice". The version of Article 19 in the ICCPR later amends this by stating that the exercise of these rights carries "special duties and responsibilities" and may "therefore be subject to certain restrictions" when necessary "[f]or respect of the rights or reputation of others" or "[f]or the protection of national security or of public order (order public), or of public health or morals".Freedom of speech and expression, therefore, may not be recognized as being absolute, and common limitations or boundaries to freedom of speech relate to libel, slander, obscenity, pornography, sedition, incitement, fighting words, hate speech, classified information, copyright violation, trade secrets, food labeling, non-disclosure agreements, the right to privacy, dignity, the right to be forgotten, public security, and perjury. Justifications for such include the harm principle, proposed by John Stuart Mill in On Liberty, which suggests that "the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others".The idea of the "offense principle" is also used to justify speech limitations, describing the restriction on forms of expression deemed offensive to society, considering factors such as extent, duration, motives of the speaker, and ease with which it could be avoided. With the evolution of the digital age, application of freedom of speech becomes more controversial as new means of communication and restrictions arise, for example, the Golden Shield Project, an initiative by Chinese government's Ministry of Public Security that filters potentially unfavourable data from foreign countries. The Human Rights Measurement Initiative measures the right to opinion and expression for countries around the world, using a survey of in-country human rights experts.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. freedom of speech

   Freedom of speech is a fundamental right protected by many constitutions and human rights laws. It refers to the entitlement of an individual or a community to express their opinions, ideas, and information freely, without censorship, restriction, or legal penalties, as long as it does not infringe on the rights of others. This involves various forms of communication, including speech, writing, art, music, or any other medium of expression. However, it also carries responsibilities and may be subjected to certain limitations such as defamation, hate speech, or national security considerations.

WikidataRate this definition:1.0 / 1 vote

1. Freedom of speech

   Freedom of speech is the political right to communicate one's opinions and ideas using one's body and property to anyone who is willing to receive them. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used. In practice, the right to freedom of speech is not absolute in any country and the right is commonly subject to limitations, as with libel, slander, obscenity, sedition, copyright violation, revelation of information that is classified or otherwise. The right to freedom of expression is recognized as a human right under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and recognized in international human rights law in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Article 19 of the ICCPR states that "[e]veryone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference" and "everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice". Article 19 goes on to say that the exercise of these rights carries "special duties and responsibilities" and may "therefore be subject to certain restrictions" when necessary "[f]or respect of the rights or reputation of others" or "[f]or the protection of national security or of public order, or of public health or morals".

Editors ContributionRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. freedom of speech

   The right to publicly communicate our feelings, opinions and ideas respectfully and responsibly in line with just, fair and ethical human rights legislation and the universal declaration of human rights.

   Freedom of speech is valued and respected by all members of humanity.

   
   

   Submitted by MaryC on January 19, 2015  

Suggested ResourcesRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. freedom of speech

   Read the full text of the Freedom Of Speech poem by Trim on the Poetry.com website.

Matched Categories

1. • Civil Right
   • Law

How to pronounce freedom of speech?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say freedom of speech in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of freedom of speech in Chaldean Numerology is: 7

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of freedom of speech in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8

Examples of freedom of speech in a Sentence

1. Angela Merkel:

   Too often, the lines of freedom of speech are very deliberately being tested, and taboos are carelessly being breached and used as a political instrument, it's not banter, rather it's playing with fire. Because whoever sows violence with words, risks reaping violence.

2. Gitesh Pandya:

   It is great that a freedom of speech debate is happening for Hollywood films, i just wish it was centered around a better movie.

3. Miss Geller:

   The gunmen are fighting against freedom of speech, the First Amendment protects all speech – not just ideas that we like – but most particularly political speech. Who would decide what is good and what is forbidden? The Islamic State? Muslim Brotherhood groups? This is the key issue of our age.

4. Sonia Cisse:

   It is a strong signal in terms of regulation, hate speech is no longer considered part of freedom of speech, it's now on the same level as terrorism.

5. Kelvin Cochran:

   This happened to me, but it's really not about me, it's a warning to every American that freedom of speech and freedom of religion are hanging by a thread, which will snap if we don't fight to preserve these cherished protections.

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=freedom of speech
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Freedom_of_Speech
3. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_Speech
4. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
5. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=freedom of speech