Freedom of speech and freedom of the press in Denmark

Freedom of speech and freedom of the press in Denmark are ensured by § 77 of the constitution:^[1]

Anyone is entitled to in print, writing and speech to publish his or hers thoughts, yet under responsibility to the courts. Censorship and other preventive measures can never again be introduced.

There's widespread agreement in Danish legal theory that § 77 protects what is called "formal freedom of speech" (formel ytringsfrihed), meaning that one cannot be required to submit one's speech for review by authorities before publishing or otherwise disseminating it.^[2] However, there is disagreement about whether or not § 77 covers "material freedom of speech" (materiel ytringsfrihed), the right to not be punished for ones speech. There is agreement that the phrasing "under responsibility to the courts" gives legislators some right to restrict speech, but conversely there have been several court decisions implying that some material freedom of speech does exist.^[3] The discussion is about whether the material speech has limits or not, and if so, what those limits are.^[3][4]

The major punishable acts are child pornography, libel, and hate speech/racism, which are restricted by the Danish penal code. Like most other countries, Denmark also forbids publishing classified material harmful to state security, copyright-protected material without permission and revealing trade secrets in the civil law.

In 2004, 2005, and 2009 Denmark received a joint first place in the Worldwide Press Freedom Index from Reporters Without Borders.^[5] Since 2011, Denmark has consistently been in the top-10 out of 179 countries in the index and it was fourth in 2016.^{[6][7][8][9][10]}

Child pornography

The provisions against child pornography are set down in §§ 235, 222, 224, 225, and 230 of the penal code:^[11][12]

• § 235. Dissemination of obscene photographs or films, other obscene visual reproductions, or similar depictions of persons under 18.
• § 222. Sexual intercourse with a child under 15.
• § 224. Sexual activities other than intercourse with a child under 15.
• § 225. Sexual relations with a child under 15 of the same sex.
• § 230. Taking indecent photographs, films, etc. of a person under 18 with intent to sell or otherwise disseminate.

Libel

The provision against libel is set down in § 267 of the penal code:

Anybody who offends another person's honor by insulting words or actions or by stating or disseminating charges, that are suitable for reducing the insulted person in the esteem of fellow citizens, will be punished by fine or ordinary imprisonment.

— § 267 of the Danish penal code

Blasphemy

For 151 years, up until the middle of 2017, blasphemy was forbidden by § 140 of the penal code:^[13]

Anybody who publicly mocks or insults any in this country legally existing religious community tenets of faith or worship, will be punished by fine or imprisonment for up to 4 months

— § 140 of the Danish penal code prior to its repeal in 2017^[14]

The law was rarely used by prosecutors, however. Only two people were ever convicted under the law during its lifetime and from 2007 to 2017, only 4 complaints of violating the law were reported to law enforcement.^[13][15] § 266b, which also covers religion, was used more frequently. Bills repealing the law had been proposed multiple times, but none were successful^[16] until 2017 when the first prosecution since 1971 was filed against a man for posting a video of him burning the Quran on Facebook, reigniting the debate over the law.^[17][18][19] Parliament voted to repeal the law, with 8 of the 9 parties in the Folketing supporting the repeal.^[20][21]

Hate speech and racism

The rules against hate speech and racism are set down in § 266b of the Danish penal code:

Whoever publicly, or with intention to disseminating in a larger circle makes statements or other pronouncement, by which a group of persons is threatened, derided or degraded because of their race, colour of skin, national or ethnic background, faith or sexual orientation, will be punished by fine or imprisonment for up to 2 years. Sec. 2. When meting out the punishment it shall be considered an especially aggravating circumstance, if the count has the character of propaganda.

— § 266b of the Danish penal code

Free speech advocate Lars Hedegaard was prosecuted under this statute for remarks made to a blogger in December 2009 criticizing Islam. He was first acquitted in the District Court in January 2011, then convicted upon appeal to High Court in May 2011, and finally acquitted by the Danish Supreme Court in April 2012 which ruled that it could not be proved that he intended for the statements to be published.^[22] Danish politician Jesper Langballe plead guilty and was convicted of hate speech for comments he made about rape and honour killings in Muslim families in a newspaper article in connection with Hedegaard's case.^[23]

State security

In February and March 2004 three Berlingske Tidende journalists, Michael Bjerre, Jesper Larsen, and Niels Lunde, were prosecuted for "harming state security" after publishing the details of classified intelligence reports about the lack of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. In December 2006 the three were acquitted by a Copenhagen court.^[24]

See also

• Freedom of speech by country

References

External links

• Danish Penal Code (in Danish). (English translation)
• Freedom of expression in Denmark - International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX)