One topic I've been asked about a lot lately is how Australian democracy runs smoothly without any clear express constitutional right to free speech. There is a relatively restricted minor implied right to free speech in the constitution but nothing in writing and nothing like the rights that exist in countries with express rights (including the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, the U.K. etc). With thanks to Eric Robinson for bringing this to my attention, Australia is now considering a new government funded regulatory body to oversee the media. Story here.
Australia has also been able to regulate things like violent video games and violent or sexually explicit movies much more effectively than countries with stronger constitutional speech protections. So the question is whether in the age of globalized, converging media and entertainment outlets, how will domestic governments deal with the increased internationalization of information more generally, particularly when domestic governments have such different stances, and powers and reflect different cultural values about the media.
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