Freedom of Expression

Freedom of expression is the bedrock of a thriving civil society. It allows people to formulate and exchange ideas, encourages transparency and accountability, and facilitates the promotion of human rights and civic space.

ICNL collaborates with its network of partners to strengthen freedom of expression throughout the world. Our current work focuses on threats to freedom of expression in digital spaces, including issues such as artificial intelligence, disinformation, and more. We also emphasize digital privacy issues, including data protection and surveillance, to ensure that people can fully exercise their expression rights without government or third-party surveillance.

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Recent ICNL Work

The World According to ChatGPT

This short piece examines how GhatGPT and similar tools might affect civic space and democracy in the coming years – both by creating new issues and exacerbating existing problems.

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Trends in digital laws in Asia

This piece examines key trends in regulation the digital sphere in Asia and the Pacific, including criminalization and censorship of online expression, surveillance, data protection, internet access, and AI governance. It provides examples of existing and pending digital laws in 17 countries.

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Freedom of Expression in Myanmar

Myanmar has seen a broad suppression of expression rights since the military’s coup d’état in 2021. ICNL and its partners have tracked both the general impacts of the crackdown and the campaign to silence Myanmar’s media. We also maintain a webpage that tracks journalist detentions.

Digital rights in Central America

This report analyzes privacy and data protection regulations in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and elsewhere. An accompanying interactive map highlights key findings.

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A Guide to Bangladesh’s Cybersecurity Act

This handbook provides an overview of the Cyber Security Act 2023, examining key provisions and how they could be applied to hinder expression rights in practice.

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Additional Resources

▷ Technology & Civic Space page: A collection of ICNL's latest work and resources on digital rights.

▷ ICNL's Civic Freedom Monitor: up-to-date information on civic freedoms, including freedom of expression, in 50+ countries.

▷ ICNL’s Digital Legal Library: nearly 4,000 laws, reports, and other legal resources from 200+ countries and territories, in more than 60 languages.

Other Useful Resources

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UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression & opinion

The UN Special Rapporteur makes recommendations on how to promote and protect freedom of expression. Work methods include visiting UN member states, gathering information on rights violations, issuing public statements, and publishing reports. Opinions of the Special Rapporteur are considered persuasive interpretations of existing international human rights law.

Read the UNSR's reports here
Joint Declaration Freedom of Expression and Elections in the Digital Age
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Guidelines & Best Practices

• UN Global Digital Compact: a comprehensive framework for digital cooperation and governance of artificial intelligence. See also ICNL’s submission to the consultative process for creating the Compact.

• Guiding Principles on Government Use of Surveillance Technologies: published by the Freedom Online Coalition, a grouping of 42 member states, these Principles are designed to prevent the misuse of surveillance technologies by governments.

• Enhancing Digital Civic Space Through the OGP Process: a guide published by ICNL to help states enact digital policies that enhance civic space.

Boost your Digital Rights Advocacy Skills with our Free Online Course

Are you interested in sharpening your ability to effectively advocate for digital rights? Take our free online course, produced in partnership with Advocacy Assembly. It features a mix of video, text, and interactive quizzes, and takes about one hour to complete.

Take the Course

Core Legal Instruments

The following international and regional legal instruments help define the right to freedom of expression under international law.

United Nations

• International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Art. 19)

• Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Art. 19)

Regional

• African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Art. 9)

• American Convention on Human Rights (Art. 13)

• Arab Charter on Human Rights (Art. 32)

• ASEAN Human Rights Declaration (Art. 23)

• European Convention on Human Rights (Art. 10)

General comment 34

The UN Human Rights Committee’s General Comment No. 34 provides comprehensive guidance on the rights to freedom of opinion and expression under Article 19 of the ICCPR.

Read the General Comment

All Freedom of Expression Resources

Explore our full resource collection, which includes reports, legal analysis, and curated collections of materials covering an array of issues impacting civic space around the world.