Specific limitations
type: Ontology
creation date: 2026-08-01T02:02:18+00:00
imports: http://semantic-mediawiki.org/swivt/1.0

Freedom of the Press/Specific limitations
type: Subject
type: Category:No breakout
type: Category:Limitations - Restrictions
type: Category:Specific limitations
type: Category:Freedom of the Press
page: https://www.rightspedia.org/Freedom_of_the_Press/Specific_limitations
wiki namespace: 0
wiki page content language: en
contents: Freedom of the press long been shaped by state actors that often in times of emergency see individual rights as second to state interests. Emergency situations such as war, natural disaster and disease typically has allowed governments to restrict this right on the basis of emergency, national security, or fear. Though this restriction can vary on duration, emergency event, country and government type, restrictions of the freedom of the press in emergency situations has a precedent. In the United States context, in times of war there has been legislation passed to restrict public discourse with government on the basis of national security. The Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798, passed as the United States prepared for war against France, restricted speech and press critical to government which allowed for the Federalist held government under John Adams to weaken the Republican party’s effect in politics. Under this act, politicians, editors, and writers were arrested and given jail time because of their publishing against the United States government (Stone, pg. 1663). During the Civil War, President Lincoln suspended the writ of habeus corpus and allowed military officials to enact martial law. This allowed for over 300 newspapers to be shut down for publications that were sympathetic to the confederacy. President Wilson, during World War I, enacted the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918 which stifled those who opposed his policies during wartime. “In effect, these two laws made it unlawful for any person to write or publish any statement that criticized the President, the Congress, the government, the Constitution, the war, the draft, the military, or the uniform of the military of the United States.” (Stone, pg. 1666). These two acts essentially brought back the Alien and Seditions Acts of 1798 which restricted publications opposing government during times of war. During World War I the United States government prosecuted nearly 2000 people under th…
page level: Question
question: Specific limitations
question heading: Is this right subject to specific limitations in event of emergency (war, brief natural disaster [weather, earthquake], long-run natural disaster [volcano, fire, disease])? Can such limitations be defined in advance with reference to the disaster in question?
right: Freedom of the Press
section: Limitations - Restrictions
wiki page modification date: 2023-10-06T04:44:17Z
modification date#aux: 2460223.697419
wiki page sort key: Freedom of the Press/Specific limitations

Page name
type: ObjectProperty
page: https://www.rightspedia.org/Property-3APage_name
wiki namespace: 102
wiki page content language: en
wiki page sort key: Page name
type: wpg