January 2003 / No. 21

Science & Technology

Information Societies

Dr. Roya Motamednejad Faculty Member of Allameh Tabatabaiee University’s Department of Law and Political Science

New advancements in ICT have increased the capacity for communication and information exchange to an extent that “cyber citizenship” has gained true meaning. Today a “cyber citizen” has access to a world of information and can also communicate his\her thoughts to the world.

These technologies are a valuable tool in the endorsement of freedom of expression, information transfer, artistic creativity, cultural exchange, education and the active participation of individuals in society and can be put to the service of democracy and its values to bring about a “civil information society”. To achieve such goals, due care must be taken in the legislation process to provide adequate support for all freedoms and in particular the freedom of expression. However, the legislation process must inevitably envisage some limitations for these freedoms, as even in a civil society one cannot use freedom of expression as an excuse to violate the freedom and rights of others. Generally speaking though, an “information society” should be founded upon the principle of freedom of expression as this freedom is the foundation of all freedoms.

One must not forget that in any society, and especially an “information society”, everyone should have access to their rights and freedoms with no political, cultural or financial barriers obstructing their way. All humans, whether male or female, rich or poor, from developed or developing countries, must have the opportunity to freely express themselves. To facilitate this, governments are obliged to combat “information gaps” generally and “digital gaps” specifically. Thus, it is not enough for governments to merely enshrine freedoms of expression in legislature, but must also strive to eliminate the gaps that prevent people from accessing those freedoms.