Free Expression: Definitions

Freedom of expression is a cluster of freedoms guaranteed to all Americans by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Freedom of speech is just one of the guarantees included in freedom of expression. Widely-accepted definitions follow.

First Amendment of the United States Constitution: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Freedom of Expression is defined by the American Civil Liberties Union as: “Freedom of speech, of the press, of association, of assembly and petition — this set of guarantees, protected by the First Amendment, comprises what we refer to as freedom of expression. The Supreme Court has written that this freedom is ‘the matrix, the indispensable condition of nearly every other form of freedom.’ Without it, other fundamental rights, like the right to vote, would wither and die.”

The United Nations defines freedom of expression in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”