La prohibición de la censura en la era digital

Article 20.2 of the Spanish Constitution categorically prohibits prior censorship. Nevertheless, despite the apparent clarity and forcefulness of this text, this provision brings about many theoretical and practical questions. The defining features of the technical and legal concept of censorship are strongly rooted in history, but technological advances challenge the idea that this category is useful on the Internet. Technological advances do not allow us to rule out the development of comparable forms of censorship; however, the technical and legal concept of censorship provides little protection in this new technological environment. The concept of censorship should be reformulated so that the constitutional prohibition of it also serves to protect an open communication process in the 21st century.La Constitución española prohíbe de forma rotunda la censura previa en su artículo 20.2. Sin embargo, pese a la aparente claridad y contundencia de esa formulación, son muchos los interrogantes teóricos y prácticos que plantea este precepto. Las notas definitorias del concepto técnico-jurídico de censura tienen una fuerte impronta histórica, pero los avances tecnológicos ponen en entredicho que esta categoría sea útil en internet. Los avances tecnológicos no permiten descartar el desarrollo de formas equiparables a la censura. Sin embargo, el concepto técnico-jurídico de la misma brinda una escasa protección en el nuevo contexto tecnológico. El concepto de censura debe reformularse, a fin de que su prohibición constitucional sirva también para proteger un proceso de comunicación libre en el siglo XXI.Article 20.2 of the Spanish Constitution categorically prohibits prior censorship. Nevertheless, despite the apparent clarity and forcefulness of this text, this provision brings about many theoretical and practical questions. The defining features of the technical and legal concept of censorship are strongly rooted in history, but technological advances challenge the idea that this category is useful on the Internet. Technological advances do not allow us to rule out the development of comparable forms of censorship; however, the technical and legal concept of censorship provides little protection in this new technological environment. The concept of censorship should be reformulated so that the constitutional prohibition of it also serves to protect an open communication process in the 21st century