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The Legacy of Peter Forsskål. 250 Years of Freedom of Expression
Abstract and Figures
In 2016, the world commemorated the sestercentennial adoption of His Majesty’s Gracious Ordinance Relating to Freedom of Writing and of the Press. The passage of the Ordinance in 1766 in Sweden was preceded by intense political and scholarly debate. Peter Forsskål put himself at the centre of that debate when he published the pamphlet Thoughts on Civil Liberty, setting out his thoughts and championing civil rights for everyone. Forsskål thought that civil rights are best defended by the institutions of ‘limited government’ and almost ‘unlimited freedom of the written word’. However, the truly radical aspect of the Ordinance is its articles on the right to access official information, which he also championed.
Historical perspectives are fruitful in many respects – and this is why Forsskål’s words still resonate. But we must be careful not to use the tracks of history to create myths about today – instead anniversaries like the one concerning the Ordinance can be used as a starting point for debate – to discuss our history and where we stand now in terms of freedom of expression, the right to information and freedom of the press.
It was against such a backdrop a seminar was organized as a side event, part of UNESCO’s World Press Freedom Day in Helsinki (3 May 2016), and co-organized by the National Archives of Finland, Project Forsskal and the UNESCO Chair on Freedom of Expression, Media Development and Global Policy at the University of Gothenburg. This publication is based on that seminar.
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... The value of freedom of speech was called misunderstood and perfunctorily used, and it was questioned whether it should really be a value above all other values. This discussion is hardly new -Sweden has the oldest freedom of the press act in the world, with freedom of expression being stated in the constitution since 1766 (Carlsson & Goldberg, 2017). What elevated the conflict beyond the regular free speech debate performed in the media, was the call to action happening on social media platforms. ...
Comedy can hold political actors accountable, for instance through satire. But what kind of moral negotiation concerns comedians? Utilizing an understanding of accountability as a dynamic of interaction between media actors and the values of their audience, this study explores the concept of comedy accountability, combining qualitative interviews with case study analysis. Five ethical values central to comedy accountability are proposed: truth-telling, freedom of speech, order and cohesion, human dignity and equality, and nonmaleficence. Results show the values to be highly present both in media commentary and in the claims of comedians, with an emphasis on freedom of speech and nonmaleficence for defenders of controversial comedy, and an emphasis on human dignity and equality and nonmaleficence for protesters of controversial comedy. The negotiation of these values happens predominantly within the market frame of accountability, with defenders also using legal-regulatory and professional responsibility arguments while protesters use public responsibility arguments.
There are still many attempts to silence freedom of expression in Indonesia. One of the ways to silence the freedom of expression in Indonesia is Strategic Lawsuit against Public Participation (SLAPP). This study analyzed at least three SLAPP cases in Indonesia: (1) the case of Prita Mulyasari vs. the Omni International Alam Sutera Hospital in Tangerang; (2) the case of Budi Heryawan as known as Budi Pego; and (3) the case of Nur Alam vs. Basuki Wasis. This study proposed two questions. First, what is the pattern and portrait of SLAPP in Indonesia? Second, how is the analysis of human rights law on the use of SLAPP in Indonesia? This normative legal research is a case-based research. It uses the case, conceptual, and statutory approaches with qualitative data. The study concludes that SLAPP in Indonesia is used against people who fight for their rights, who defend their selves against human rights abuses committed by third parties, and to experts whose testimonies are used by a court. The representation shows that SLAPP is an effort to shift the problem from the real perpetrator to the victim. The SLAPP puts the victim in a high-risk position; drains and distracts the victim; and postpones problem-solving. Second, the SLAPP is an act that contradicts and/or has an adverse impact on freedom of expression. Courts must be present to affirm that the state takes sides to protect freedom of expression.
Preprint available at https://www.duo.uio.no/bitstream/handle/10852/60919/FLC%2b201701%2bHans%2bPetter%2bGraver.pdf?sequence=5&isAllowed=y
Making market operators responsible for having and giving access to information about their impact on the environment is an important part of changing the way the economy operates in relation to environmental sustainability. To this end, the Norwegian access to environmental information act has established a right for the public to access to environmental information from private entities such as business enterprises. In this point, the Norwegian Act goes further than international rules, such as the Aarhus Convention, and also further than any other national legislation. This article presents the rules on access to information from business enterprises, and presents and discusses examples from the implementation of these rules.
The development of access to documents and open meetings provisions by the Council of Ministers of the European Union shows an interesting pattern: before 1992 no formal transparency provisions existed, between 1992 and 2006 formal transparency provisions dramatically increased, and since 2006 this increase has come to a halt. This paper aims to enhance our understanding of these shifts by conducting a historical institutional analysis of policy change. As explanatory factors, we consider the preferences and power resources of Member States, as well as external catalysts and social structures. We conclude that the current revision deadlock is more stable than the situation before 1992 because now the pro-transparency coalition and transparency-sceptic Council majority have entrenched their positions. Nevertheless, and in spite of Council entrenchment, we expect that Council transparency will continue to develop in the longer term, under the pressure of increasingly influential outside actors, particularly the European Parliament.
1 suggest that despite the well- known tendency towards concentration, tabloidiza- tion, etc., the media field is surrounded by a ten- dency in support of a citizen-centred notion of free- dom of speech and freedom of the press. What is the essential in freedom of speech in the light of current trends? This study suggests a para- digm shift which boils down to five aspects: 1) The dominant frame of reference in freedom of speech is no longer the question of censorship - the advance surveillance of heroic media by a vil- lainous state - but of human rights. Each indi- vidual has an inalienable right to information and its dissemination, and also to an opinion and its expression, namely the right to communicate. 2) The masters of freedom of speech are not the mass media and the journalists, i.e. media - an avantgard party fighting valiantly for their free- dom - it is the citizens for whom freedom of speech ensures both democracy and quality of life.
Summary in German. Added t.p. with thesis statement inserted. Thesis (doctoral)--Uppsala universitet, 1984. Includes bibliographical references (p. 400-432) and index.
Upsala universitets historia, Bihang 4: Handlingar 1749-1776
- Claes Annerstedt
Annerstedt, Claes (1912). Upsala universitets historia, Bihang 4: Handlingar 1749-1776.
Uppsala and Stockholm.
Upsala universitets historia, Tredje delen 1719-1792, förra afdelningen. Universitäts Öden 1719-1792
- Claes Annerstedt
Annerstedt, Claes (1913). Upsala universitets historia, Tredje delen 1719-1792, förra afdelningen. Universitäts Öden 1719-1792. Uppsala and Stockholm.
Freedom of Expression and the Media in a Time of Uncertainty. A Brief Introduction
- Ulla Carlsson
Carlsson, Ulla (2016). Freedom of Expression and the Media in a Time of Uncertainty. A
Brief Introduction, pp. 9-16 in Carlsson, Ulla (ed.) Freedom of Expression and Media in
Transition. Göteborg: Nordicom, University of Gothenburg.
Thoughts on Civil Liberty
- Peter Forsskål
Forsskål, Peter (2009 [1759]). Thoughts on Civil Liberty, Goldberg. David; Jonsson, Gunilla;