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.