RUNNINGHEAD: FREEDOM OF SPEECH

North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University

Freedom of Speech and Press Around the World

Josef McDougal

In full requirements of the course JOMC 492

Midterm

Spring 2020

Freedom of the press is a concept that differs around the world. The idea of freedom

of expression is not a given right to all. Certain countries detest the notion of legally
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protecting and allowing citizens the right to criticize and monitor the government. According

to the World Press Freedom Index the top countries with the most freedom as it pertains to

the press reside heavily in Europe and the Carribean.1 In this paper the political workings of

the notion of the freedom of press will be analyzed in the United States, the United

Kingdom, and China. Three very different countries with three extremely different forms of

government and outlooks on civil liberties.

The United States of America provides the fundamental right of freedom of speech

and press to all of its citizens. Persons within the United States have the right to criticize,

monitor, and dissent the federal government as long it is not deemed as being harmful or

intentionally malicious to the community. The first amendment of the constitution states that

“Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.” 2 However,

there are numerous instances noted in United States policy that restrict the press and

individuals alike. Prior restraint is a highly important term when discussing freedom of the

press in the United States. Prior restraint is the government’s ability to review material to

determine whether or not publication of the material should be allowed. Many Supreme

Court cases dealing with the constitutionality of the concept of prior restraint. In 1931

Supreme Court case Near v Minnesota brought into question whether the statute authorizing

the prior restraint of a newspaper consistent with liberty of the freedom of the press. 3 The

court decided that prior restraint violated the first amendment however, in exceptional cases

prior restraint is recognized in situations such as war. In New York Times Company v

1 2019 World Press Freedom Index: Reporters Without Borders. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://rsf.org/en/ranking
2 (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.lincoln.edu/criminaljustice/hr/Speech.htm#:~:text=
3 {{meta.pageTitle}}. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.oyez.org/cases/1900-1940/283us697
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United States it was decided that government interest in protecting national security does not

justify prior restraint.4 Any situation of prior restraint that comes before the court bears a

heavy burden of proving constitutional validity and justification. Although the United States

views itself as the epitome of civil liberties, it is ranked number forty-eight in the World

Press Freedom Index.5

Freedom of the press in the United Kingdom is free but not absolute. The United

Kingdom has no parliamentary laws protecting free speech as it pertains to the press meaning

that Parliament can suppress news and media outlets as they please. According to the World

Press Freedom Index the United Kingdom is ranked number thirty-eight, exactly ten nations

above the United States.6 In October of 2016 the Independent Monitor for the Press became a

nationally recognized print regulator organization.7 This regulator and other royal chartered

have the power to potentially impose financial penalties to publications that violate the set

guidelines. These charters require that all publications register with the charter and

specifically for the British Broadcasting Corporation disclose a list of employees that earn

more than 150,000 euros a year. Earlier in 2016 Parliament passed a bill that gives extensive

power to government security agencies and takes away rights from journalists. 8 The bill

allows government security agents the right to record journalists without disclosing to the

4 {{meta.pageTitle}}. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.oyez.org/cases/1970/1873

journalist that they are being recorded which endangers both the safety and the reliability of

journalists in the United Kingdom.

China is one of the few communist nations in the world. Due to their communism

freedom of expression is a frowned upon concept and freedom of the press is virtually

nonexistent. The World Press Freedom Index ranks China 177 out of 180 nations. 9 China is

widely known for having severe media censorship issues including suppressing the media

and restricting internet access altogether to avoid subversion of government power. Citizens

are not encouraged to criticize the government. China’s official constitution grants its

citizens both the freedom of speech and freedom of the press much like the United States

constitution. However, in China’s constitution it outlines that the government has the power

to censor any information vaguely deemed as harmful to China’s political or economic

interest.10 Under president Xi Jinping’s rule numerous social sites such as YouTube, Google,

and Wikipedia have been categorized as being potentially dangerous and have been

completely blocked on China’s internet. There is a clause in their government stating that all

work done by the party [the communisty party] must reflect the party’s views. 11 Even

Bloomberg’s news service is off limits in China. In early 2017 thirty-eight chinese journalists

were imprisoned for going against the views of the one-party system. Last decade in 2009 an

infamous Chinese rights activist, Liu Xiaobo, fought against the one-party communist system

and was punished for it by the Chinese government and sent to prison. When word of

9 World Press Freedom Index: Reporters Without Borders. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://rsf.org/e2019n/ranking
10 Media Censorship in China. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/media-
censorship-china
11 ibid
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Xiaobo’s activism spread he was awarded the nobel peace prize for standing up against a

regime.

In a religious nation like Pakistan, a legally recognized muslim country, certain

freedoms available in non religious nations are not at their disposle. Pakistan is globally

ranked number 142 out of 180 countries by the World Freedom Press Index. 12 The nation's

new prime minister Imran Khan announced the creation of the Pakistan Media Regulatory

Authority, or PMRA, a regulation enacted to provide censorship to modern media.

Journalists meanwhile continue to be at risk in the field.13 Numerous Pakistan reporters have

been caught in the midst of armed rebels and government officials causing them to lose their

lives for reporting on major issues within their countries. Many of them were reporting on

drug trafficking schemes in Pakistan. The new media regulatory authority act can be seen as

a way to protect journalist in this nation due to the anarchy of their society and government.

Although this country practices democracy, the government often stifles the press to control

elections.

Freedom of the press is a concept that differs around the world. Many nations protect

citizens and journalist rights to criticize, monitor, and dissent the government, however,

many nations do not. Certain countries detest the notion of legally protecting and allowing

citizens the right to criticize and monitor the government. According to the World Press

Freedom Index the top countries with the most freedom as it pertains to the press reside

12 2019 World Press Freedom Index: Reporters Without Borders. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://rsf.org/en/ranking
13 Pakistan : Under the military establishment's thumb: Reporters without borders. (n.d.).
Retrieved from https://rsf.org/en/pakistan
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heavily in Europe and the Carribean.14 This paper analyzed the political workings of the

notion of the freedom of press will be analyzed in the United States, the United Kingdom,

and China. Three very different countries with three extremely different forms of

government and outlooks on civil liberties.

14 2019 World Press Freedom Index: Reporters Without Borders. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://rsf.org/en/ranking