Freedom of expression resides at the core of what free and open societies are. Without it, all our other rights are severely restricted.
As our 2024 Global Expression Report demonstrates, in the past decade the UK has declined across a range of indicators that determine the strength of freedom of expression.
Whichever party is declared the winner on election day, it is an opportunity for incoming politicians and policy-makers to reverse this trend.
Here are the issues we believe they must address:
1. Protect protest
Following the election, the new government must take a bold stand to protect one of our most important, and cherished, rights: the right to protest.
Over the last decade, UK authorities have become increasingly hostile to the right to protest: targeting climate demonstrations and vilifying those expressing solidarity with Palestine. The government has used legislation including the 2023 Public Order Act and the 2024 Serious Disruption Prevention Orders to restrict protest and criminalise protesters.
The incoming government must reverse those measures, stop the crackdown, and ensure that laws, regulations and enforcement fully respect, protect and facilitate, rather than inhibit, the right to protest.
2. Defend online privacy
The new government must protect privacy by radically overhauling the Online Safety Act – which leaves open the possibility of the regulator Ofcom ordering social media and other companies to scan encrypted messages and data.
Government assurances that it would only be done through ‘accredited technology’ that does not compromise privacy and only happen in ‘last resort’ situations are out of touch with reality. Experts agree that scanning messages is fundamentally incompatible with privacy – it would establish a ‘back door’, creating a critical vulnerability that could pave the way for communications surveillance.
Privacy and end-to-end encryption are the foundation of secure and free communication online. The UK must not become the first liberal democracy to legitimise routine scanning of people’s private messages.
3. Safeguard media freedom and safety of journalists
The incoming government must take concrete steps to better protect journalists and promote media freedom and ethics in the country.
The UK has long been recognised as a destination for those using strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) to stifle criticism by saddling journalists and other critics with expensive and time-consuming defamation proceedings. The new government must introduce anti-SLAPP legislation as a matter of urgency.
The new government must take a stand and refuse to support the US government’s pursuit of extradition for Julian Assange, and to protect all those who expose serious human rights violations and crimes. Criminalising journalism has a chilling effect on freedom of expression in the UK and beyond.
The UK must also demonstrate firm support for journalists and activists around the world, and those facing transnational repression in the UK.
4. Improve effective regulation of digital markets
The UK must promote effective competition in digital markets to protect the economy, democracy, and human rights.
Currently, a handful of digital companies wield power over how we see, read, hear, and share information. The new Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act is a positive development, and the new government must continue to take steps to promote user choice and safeguard against exploitation.
5. Bolster academic freedom
Independent universities are a cornerstone of democracy and must remain vibrant spaces for debate and dissent.
Previous government promises and legislation to ‘protect free expression at universities’ have actually posed threats to this right, potentially limiting protest at universities and having a chilling effect both on teaching and academic research.
We urge the government to invest in positive measures that promote pluralism and tolerance on campuses – more legislation is not the answer.
6. International policy must protect freedom of expression
The UK government must commit to supporting and championing human rights around the world.
This must start at home, with the UK upholding its commitment to the European Convention on Human Rights. In recent years, government officials, including prime ministers, have called for the UK to abandon the Convention – a disastrous scenario that would not only erode people’s rights in the UK but also completely undermine the country’s role as a voice for the protection of freedom of expression and media freedom internationally.
The UK must also approach foreign aid from a human rights perspective – recognising that freedom of expression and access to information are enabling rights that underpin development initiatives.
The government must strongly condemn targeted attacks on media workers and activists everywhere, including Israel’s killing of Palestinian journalists, and by both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan. It must call on Israel to grant international media access to Gaza, and urge it to respect the International Court of Justice’s order to ensure fact-finding missions have unimpeded access to the Gaza Strip.
Whichever party wins the majority of the vote on 4 July, they must ensure the win is a victory for the people of the UK.
Strong and robust democracies are built on freedom of expression and the new government must demonstrate, defend, and argue against those who seek to diminish the freedoms we hold dear.
