On Thursday, June 5 at 2:30 PM, Professor Paolo Passaglia from the University of Pisa, a member of the teaching staff of ProStEUVa, will deliver an online seminar titled “Comunicazione, libertà di espressione e nuove tecnologie” (Communication, Freedom of Expression, and New Technologies). The event is part of the curriculum of the second-level Master’s Programme in Diritto e tecnologia dell’ecosistema digitale, which he also directs.
The seminar will offer an in-depth reflection on the evolving relationship between technological innovation and constitutional rights. Digital technologies have fundamentally reshaped the landscape of communication: no longer confined to traditional forms of expression, individuals now study, work, access public services, organize socially and politically, and explore personal identity in online spaces. These new modalities amplify the scope of freedom of expression but also create complex regulatory and ethical challenges.
Prof. Passaglia will address how these transformations bring about both opportunities and risks for fundamental rights. On one hand, digital tools have expanded the reach and effectiveness of rights already enshrined in democratic constitutions. On the other, they have introduced new threats – such as surveillance, algorithmic bias, and digital exclusion – that call for updated legal safeguards.
The seminar will also examine the emergence of new fundamental rights prompted by technological change. These include rights aimed at protecting individuals from technological harm, as well as those designed to enable full participation in the digital sphere. Particular attention will be paid to the right of access to the internet – a right largely debated by scholarship and formally recognized in some jurisdictions, such as Mexico, as essential for the exercise of numerous other fundamental rights.
By exploring these intersecting dynamics, the seminar aims to contribute to the broader discussion on how legal frameworks must adapt to ensure that freedom of expression and other core democratic values are preserved – and made meaningful – in the digital age.
You can join the seminar here.
Download the event flyer here.
