Freedom of speech - without limits - and the trivialization of evil

Abstract

The right to freedom of speech in Brazil, particularly in the pandemic and post-pandemic periods, had its contours not only tested but also put in great evidence. The possibility of an individual to have his ideas, his concepts and/or prejudices, known by others has been catapulted by the ubiquitous social networks to infinity and beyond. A single post on a social network - regardless of the content - has the potential to reach thousands of people in minutes, with imponderable repercussions on the lives of others. It is a topic of great relevance since, on a daily basis, internet users post whatever they want, under the allegation that they are fully exercising their right to freedom of expression. In this sense, it is necessary to reflect on the current Brazilian legislation on the subject. To this end, as a contextualization element, we will discuss some examples where the exercise of the right to freedom of speech by politicians, public figures and TV stations, among others, has established controversy over excesses and the conflict with other equally fundamental rights (honor, intimacy, privacy). This article aims to demonstrate that the exercise of the right to freedom of speech, without any limit, has the potential to establish injustices and, ultimately, to consecrate a true trivialization of evil. The methodology adopted in this research was deductive, through a bibliographical survey, with exploratory observation and a qualitative approach.