Just because you are permitted to say whatever you want doesn't mean you are free from responsibility for the content of your words. Words precede action, and a

Just because you are permitted to say whatever you want doesn't mean you are free from responsibility for the content of your words. Words precede action, and as such uttering words entails some share of the responsibility for the action. My meaning is, with regards to libel, that in a theoretical sense, claiming I'm a murderer would be acceptable under free speech. The reason it is problematic is that claiming I'm a murderer will cause other people to do harm to me, that is, you share in responsibility for loss on my part. As a result, libel laws allow me to level the field - it's not that you aren't allowed to call me a murderer, but rather that you are responsible for the unjust damage you caused me by doing so. That is why it's ok to call someone a murderer if they actually killed someone - the damage is not unjust. That is also why libel laws (at least in accordance with my ideology) should be entirely restricted to the civil court of law and not the criminal one. I'm aware that the model of free speech I'm advocating is in some cases unrealistic (most notably in the military intelligence community). However, the concept of absolutely free speech is something that countries should attempt to reach, and choosing to give citizens the ability to suppress speech lies in direct opposition to this. Democratic states need to provide rights to their citizens so that said rights form a minimum spanning set - internal conflict between security and privacy is why the US allowed itself to reach a state of mass NSA surveillance. I don't see why EU states should encourage a conflict between free speech and the right to be forgotten. Even though the speech people seek to suppress may cause harm to them (as with libel laws), it is unreasonable to expect a person to free themselves of accountability for their actions by blaming those who merely report on the actions. People act with the expectation that their actions will have social repercussions, and the choice of action or inaction is more powerful than the choice of speech or silence.