The alarming decline of freedom of expression over the past decade

According to UNESCO assessments, freedom of expression has declined worldwide by 10% since 2012. Hate speech, online harassment and the constant attacks on journalists and dissident activism are among the most worrying trends of recent years.

The state of freedom of expression in the world is an issue that has run through multiple debates, on the cultural, social and political levels alike, and 2025 is a year that left worrying prospects. The most recent assessments by human rights organizations have pointed to a worrying decline in freedom of expression compared with the last ten years. The right to freely express political ideas or statements of a personal or community nature has been undermined as authoritarian political regimes have grown stronger. At the same time, the role of communicators and journalists has been markedly affected by increases in censorship, or even self-censorship, in the face of cases of corruption or extreme violence. 

Indeed, according to data released in recent weeks by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), freedom of expression has suffered a 10% decline relative to 2012. This is shown by the findings of the most recent World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development report prepared by the international body. 

The factors are many. They combine shifts in power driven by technological change, the capacity of the media, the rise of increasingly coercive and intimidating hate speech, and the silencing of dissident activism through restrictive and persecutory government policies. 

According to the report, while the development over the last decade of technologies such as social media platforms has helped disseminate topics that are often made invisible, it has also opened space for ever-higher surges of aggression and harassment. As stated in the report, 67% of people consulted in a survey said they had been targeted by hate speech for expressing their opinions on various topics of discussion online. 

Likewise, the role of communicators and journalists has been one of the most attacked in recent years, especially in relation to the coverage and exposure of issues of major current impact such as corruption, the climate emergency and governments that violate human rights, among other matters. Not only journalists, but also activists and science communicators have been the target of attacks, harassment and even kidnappings and murders. This is alarming not only from a strictly humanitarian standpoint, but also because of its implications for the right to information on issues of central importance. 

The right to expression: worrying figures 

According to the data in the UNESCO report, there are currently some 160 countries where legal frameworks that punish expression under the offense of “defamation” still prevail. It has also been recorded that, for the first time in 20 years, non-democratic regimes have outnumbered democratic ones. Meanwhile, it is estimated that over the last 12 years control measures and restrictions on the media around the world have increased by almost 50%. Finally, one of the most striking figures in the report is the number of journalists imprisoned, which stood at more than 360 in 2024, a historic peak. 

On the other hand, one factor to take into account is the gender-based violence component that runs through attacks on freedom of expression. The recorded assessments show that violations in the world of journalism, for example, have particularly affected women communicators and journalists. According to surveys, more than 73% of women journalists have been targeted by online attacks, and more than 40% have been targeted by verbal or physical sexual harassment, with a low level of reports filed in this regard (1 in 5).

All these factors contribute to the widespread deterioration of the conditions that guarantee full freedom of expression, in a scenario where the axes of power are becoming increasingly punitive and repressive.

Freedom of expression and criminal penalties in Europe

Regarding the above, the Council of Europe has spoken out about the “excessive limits” that various countries have placed on freedom of expression and how these affect the full exercise of democracy. For this reason, in September of this year, the Council decided to launch a series of “guidelines” to address these obstacles to free expression and strengthen the values of democracy.

According to the Council, while recourse to criminal frameworks for discursive practices such as incitement to violence or hate speech is provided for, it has also pointed out that these penalties are often used for less harmful acts. The consequences, the Council states, manifest themselves in tendencies to socially silence voices for fear of reprisals. 

Guillermo Whpei

President of Fundación para la Democracia