John Stuart Mill Freedom Of Speech Analysis

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The significance of the freedom of expression and speech has been recognized by political thinkers already in the 19th century. One of the most prominent supporters of free speech is John Stuart Mill. In his famous work “On Liberty”, the freedom of expression is presented as a key element of both truth prosperity and individual, as well as social, progress . Nowadays, the freedom of expression is one of the fundamental human rights recognized by many legal documents and conventions throughout the whole planet . In the European context, the freedom of expression is protected by article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Whistle-blowing is one of the important manifestations of this human right. It occurs when a person exposes any kind of information or activity that is supposed to be illegal, dishonest, or not …show more content…
This can be seen in the case of Edward Snowden. The former contractor of the National Security Agency made disclosures on the PRISM programme, which main purpose is to ensure safety in the society through surveillance of suspects connected with terrorism. His disclosures on the PRISM programme have revealed massive and largely unregulated surveillance by the intelligence services of US . Controversially, government of the United States sought to pursue criminal charges and extradite Edward Snowden. The actions of US government were viewed as disrespect to the right of public to be informed about irregularities in the governmental services . At the same time, such reaction is not something unexpected, since, even in a democratic society, not every country’s leaders are ready to acknowledge their faults and mistakes, and thus damage their reputation in the eyes of the

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