MaltaToday online poll: Majority believes freedom of expression excludes ‘right to offend’

A MaltaToday online poll conducted in the wake of the attacks on the Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris, France, saw the majority of readers agreeing that freedom of expression should exclude the ‘right to offend’, especially when it comes to religion or religious sentiment.

Up until yesterday, a total of 2,614 readers took part in the maltatoday.com.mt poll, discussing whether freedom of expression should be absolute or not.

After the attacks on the Charlie Hebdo offices, a largely satirical publication, the Western world was alight with discussions about freedom of expression. The January 11 attack by Islamic extremists left 12 dead, and a whole continent bandying under the ‘Je Suis Charlie’ banner to fight the atrocious attack on freedom of expression.

In the midst of this discussion, it is natural to wonder about the state of freedom of expression in Malta, one of eight EU countries that still enforce blasphemy laws.

The readers were asked whether freedom of expression also gives people the ‘right to offend’ others.

According to the poll, 58.72% (1,535) of the readers believe that freedom of expression should have its limits, particularly with regard to religious issues, while 38.64% of respondents (1,010) said that those who are offended have the same right to express themselves in return.

A small percentage of 2.64% (69) said that they didn’t know.