Against offensive comments, "raise the tone of the conversation"
On April 30th, subscriber Joan Roig posted a digital comment on my last article about the offensive messages directed at Mario Vargas Llosa in the same post. I'm reproducing the philosophically charged paragraph that gives it meaning:
"We live in difficult and frustrating times, and many readers use the newspaper's comments as a way to vent. It would be good to try to elevate the tone of the conversation with clearer recommendations, without ever denying the right to criticism." –In fact, it is necessary to encourage it– but from civility."
The Ombudsman has received several complaints about reader comments in the digital edition, but from two angles: those asking us to remove the broadly offensive comments, and those demanding that they be censored. I appreciate the contributions of Josep Miquel Palaudarias, Francesc García, Daniel Sau, and Xavier Jordà, as well as that of Lluís Minoves, who warns us that, content and form aside, these comments are not proofread and, indeed, in addition to being scurrilous texts, there are also poorly written ones.
I have asked Antoni Solano, of the Gay-Rosell & Solano law firm, the lawyers for the Catalan Association of Journalists. Solano, with an extensive professional and academic resume, which includes intellectual property issues, has responded to the ARA Readers' Ombudsman in writing and during personal visits. He naturally places the right to freedom of expression—which also leads to ideological freedom—first and foremost.–, enshrined in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 20.1 a) of the Spanish Constitution.
This right, however, Solano emphasizes, is not absolute, and "it is understood that freedom of expression has its limits, and cannot affect other fundamental rights such as dignity, liberty, or the honor of individuals, or incite hate speech or violence, among others." And, in light of the new challenges posed by technology, he believes that "current regulations can hardly address the entire new technological reality, since despite the legislatively established limits, any user can currently disseminate their opinions or ideas with little or no control or limits."
"Furthermore," he continues,–, in many cases, people who spread their opinions in digital newspapers in the form of comments do so anonymously or through users who are difficult to identify, so that, even if they make inappropriate comments, their identity is difficult" and "it is the same publishers or media that have the power to delete or approve their comments from the Supreme Court (November 30, 2022), referring to the violation of the right to honor Similarly, the jurist adds the recent European Regulation 2024/1083, of April 11, 2024, on freedom of the media, which ensures freedom of expression and ideas.
Attorney Solano concludes: "Ultimately, despite current legislation regulating freedom of expression and ideological freedom, new technologies can cross boundaries, but there are control mechanisms to prevent this. The right to express ourselves and give our opinions is fundamental, as long as public order is respected as established by freedom, that is, respecting and respecting the Constitution itself, that is, respecting comments that may incite violence or hatred, among others. However, it is sometimes not easy to determine where the limit is, and when in doubt, whoever controls the tool, given their potential liability, tends to be restrictive."
Since the issue of freedom of expression is of essential interest to our profession, which has endured relentless censorship and criminal proceedings, both yesterday and today, with the devastating cases of Pablo Hasél's imprisonment and Valtónic's exile, I have requested two more legal opinions.
Ricard Fernández Deu has worked as a lawyer and has an excellent journalistic resume, distinguished with the Cross of Sant Jordi, and with the honor of having presented the first Newscast In Catalan, Fernández Deu believes that "the right to freedom of expression must be interpreted, in this case [the ARA consultation], in conjunction with the newspaper's editorial policy. The newspaper has the right to include content that best serves the interests of readers and omit content that, due to its offensive nature, only contributes to confusion and discord."
Ramon Setó, a criminal lawyer with extensive experience, who was one of the lawyers in the trial, currently president of the Culture Commission and secretary of the Governing Board of the Tarragona Bar Association, states in this regard: "As a means of communication, it is entitled to cut off messages consisting exclusively of insults and threats that it calls ranchers "They are recorded as comments in digital editions. Freedom of expression and information, recognized in the EC, are not absolute rights. There are limits when these rights conflict with others, such as the right to honor and dignity of persons. The right to insult does not exist. I sincerely believe that, as owners of the spaces where these people post the aforementioned comments (clearly violating the right to honor and dignity of journalists and collaborators), perhaps they are not only entitled to delete them, but are even obligated to do so (unlike what happens on social media). We should apply a different criterion to potential outbursts (including potential insults) that may be embedded in critical comments, which are absolutely legitimate and clearly protected by freedom of expression."
Finally, on the other side of pure science is the applied science of the courts, with the recent example of the ruling of the Provincial Court of Barcelona endorsing the publication of the book Hate, which gives voice to the murderer sentenced to forty years for killing his three children, and despite everything, the publishing house Anagrama suspended its distribution. Much earlier, in my consultation last summer, lawyer Solano anticipated these scenarios: "Unfortunately for the medium, and fortunately for legal certainty, neither the legislator nor the courts tend to exonerate from liability those who have not adopted the appropriate means to control it."
In view of all this, this Ombudsman believes that the defenders in toga are the readers' true advocates in this case. He endorses their comments and agrees with Solano's final recommendation: "We will have to go case by case, analyzing with balance, proportionality, and detail the conflict between the different fundamental rights." This is what the ARA determines in its protocol. ad hoc, which specifies that pseudonyms are for public purposes only, since only subscribers can comment; that comments a reader considers inappropriate may be blocked or reported; that when there are three complaints, the case is reviewed; and that insulting comments must be blocked automatically.
Seen for sentencing.
The Readers' Ombudsman pays attention to doubts, suggestions, criticisms and complaints about the contents of the newspaper in its digital and paper editions, and ensures that the treatment of information is in accordance with the codes of ethics.
By contact the Readers' Ombudsman You can send an email to eldefensor@ara.cat or record a message of no more than one minute on WhatsApp at 653784787. In all cases, identification with your name, surname, and ID number is required.
