*The right to ‘offend, shock or disturb,’ or the importance of protecting unpleasant speech* Nani Jansen ReventlowAssociate Tenant, Doughty Street Chambers. @bkcharvard fellow @cyberlawclinic advisor. Free speech, a fundamental component of democracy, has been the subject of increasing debate as harmful speech, both online and offline, has emerged as a topic of public attention. While a recent New York Times article calls into question whether fixing problems such as online harassment is even possible, the serious threat that online abuse, especially of women, poses to free speech is widely acknowledged. With such harms in mind, this brief essay does not dispute the importance of striving toward an internet that is a safe and open space for all to exchange views and ideas, regardless of gender, race, religion, or affiliation. Instead, it intends to underline the importance of devising measures to combat harmful speech online that leave sufficient space for the right to “offend, shock or disturb,” as the European Court of Human Rights aptly stated in the Handyside case. While stopping short of arguing for the creation of a “right to insult,” as was recently proposed, this essay does argue that we should take care in safeguarding a space in which unpleasant, unpopular, and offensive ideas and views can be freely shared, to ensure that free speech indeed remains the cornerstone of a democratic society. […] Continua qui: https://medium.com/berkman-klein-center/the-right-to-offend-shock-or-disturb...