Freedom of Expression of Legal Entities on the Internet from the Point of View of the European Court of Human Rights

ABSTRACT

Rapid development of new technologies, including the Internet, demonstrates the need for legal regulation of the content that appears on the websites of Internet platforms. However, the regulation of such content must not interfere with the very essence of the right to freedom of expression. The restrictions set forth by the governments should pursue a legitimate aim and be necessary in a democratic society. The aim of this paper is to describe the basic rules for the protection of the right to freedom of expression of legal entities under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in relation to Internet speeches and reflect on the legal regulation of debates concerning Covid-19. Given this objective, the research is divided into three parts. The first part defines the general principles of the ECHR concerning the right to freedom of expression, and specifically emphasizes the rules for the protection of speech on the Internet. The second part of the manuscript offers an analysis of the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) concerning legal persons’ complaints under Article 10 of the ECHR in connection with the activities on the Internet. The last third part of the manuscript is devoted to the reflection on the restriction of the expressions concerning Covid-19, namely, their compliance with Article 10 of the ECHR. © 2022, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Institute of State and Law. All rights reserved.