Criminalising Speech in the Internet Age

Whilst the High Court has recognised and applied an implied constitutional guarantee of freedom of governmental and political communication, speech on matters of public interest in Australia remains subject to a wide range of legal limitations, many of which would be struck down as unconstitutional in other common law jurisdictions. This subject explores the limitations on free speech that arise as a result of proceedings and processes initiated by arms of the state and prosecutorial authorities: legislative, executive and judicial, and from censorship of sexually-explicit material to restrictions applying to the advocacy of terrorism. Those restrictions profoundly affect the material that may be published by the media. It is the impact of the current restrictions on free speech on both the media and on non-media elements of civil society that are the focus of this subject. Taken individually and collectively, these regimes limit the access of Australians to speech that matters.