Online Speech Legal Control

Freedom of speech is one of the important rights in the Constitution. It protects individual's rights of self-expression, self-actualization, self-judgment. Internet, the modern high-tech product, has widely impacted in the areas of communication and media. The popularity of Internet broke the limitations of traditional media in terms of speech, expression and information delivery. Everyone can freely express himself on Internet, the virtual world.Speech and expression on Internet is not only an extended method of expression in the Internet virtual world, but also a new method of speech and expression. Internet freedom of speech and expression belongs to the freedom of speech, so it should be protected. However, Internet freedom of speech and expression is not absolutely free but relatively free. The freedom should obey the Constitution. It cannot be beyond the Constitution. Due to the special characteristics of Internet—interactive, open to the public, and anonymous—appropriate legal control must be developed in order to protect citizen's other rights.This paper discuses the meaning and values of Internet freedom of speech and expression according to freedom of speech right in the Constitution. Then this paper demonstrates the conflicts of citizen's rights and public rights caused by Internet freedom of speech and expression. Based on the theory of legal control, the author analyzes the approaches of controlling speech and expression on Internet, and suggests appropriate limits of legal control. At last, the author proposes that the development of Internet laws should protect freedom of speech, avoid conflicts between laws and regulations, clarify law languages, and emphasize Internet technology based on the current situation of freedom of speech control in our country.