Freedom of expression in the digital transition

ABSTRACT

The issues raised by today’s global and multicultural societies are complex, and it is urgent for the research community to help improve our understanding of current problems. Digitisation has changed our communication systems in terms of time, space, and social behaviour; it has changed functions as well as management practices and the market by adding new types of transnational companies. These changes have transformed the public sphere; the context of freedom of expression has shifted. Globalisation, geopolitics, and new information technologies exert strong formative influences on freedom of expression in modern-day society, and power, hegemony, equality, and justice are still concepts of decisive importance. This article aims to provide a discussion of the main challenges contemporary society poses to freedom of expression, media, and the digital culture.

KEYWORDS:

• Freedom of expression
• democracy
• digitisation
• media culture
• media literacy
• media research

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Göteborgs Universitet.

Notes on contributors

Ulla Carlsson

Ulla Carlsson, PhD, is a professor (former Director of Nordicom), and in 2015 she was appointed to the UNESCO Chair on Freedom of Expression, Media Development and Global Policy by the University of Gothenburg. Most of her own research has focused on international communication and the globalization of media.