The Impact of Measures Against COVID-19 on Freedom of Press and Expression

This chapter aims to analyse the impact of the first measures against COVID-19 regarding freedom of press and freedom of expression in the first pandemic wave (from January to June 2020). To do this, we used EXCEPTIUS data and discuss whether the policies used to fight COVID-19, particularly those targeting the spread of information, contributed to the erosion of fundamental rights and freedoms in the European context. Our chapter describes how restrictive measures varied across Europe and engages in a normative debate on the extent to which liberal democracies had a legitimate claim to restrict freedom to fight COVID-19. It is a debate on whether freedom of expression should be curtailed or not, a process that might lead to the erosion of democracy, or instead contribute to making it more robust, particularly in the context of a public health crisis, such as the one imposed by COVID-19.