Metaphors, Judicial Frames, and Fundamental Rights in Cyberspace

The relationship between metaphorical language and protection of fundamental rights on the Internet is evident, in particular, when looking at the judgement of Supreme Courts. Which is the relation between metaphorical language and judicial protection of fundamental rights on the Internet? How in particular, are legal imagination, metaphors and judicial frame impacting on the degree of protection of freedom of expression when the relevant (technological) playground is the world of bits? This work aims to analyze the so-called “judicial frame” focusing especially on the legal disputes relating to free of speech on the Internet. From a methodological perspective, the authors compared both the European Court of Human Rights and the US Supreme Court case law. The main finding of this work shows how the adoption of an internal or external point of view in relation to the Internet by Supreme Courts affects not only the use of different metaphors to describe the digital world, but also the balance between the fundamental rights at stake.