“Ashby Donald and others v. France”

• 1. Article 10 of the Convention is intended to apply to Internet communication, whatever the type of message being transported, and even if the objective pursued is of a pecuniary nature.

• 2. The freedom of expression includes the publication of photographs.

• 3. While Art. 10(2) of the Convention leaves hardly any scope for restrictions to the freedom of expression in the political field for example, the Contracting States have a large margin of discretion when regulating freedom of expression in the commercial sector, it being understood that the extent of this discretion must be qualified when the issue is not of an expression that is strictly “commercial” by one individual or another but rather his participation in a debate concerning the general interest.

• 4. Where the aim pursued is to “protect the rights and freedoms of others” and where these “rights and freedoms” themselves are amongst those guaranteed by the Convention or its Protocols, the need to protect them might lead States to restrict other rights or freedoms equally protected by the Convention. In such a case, the balancing of the possibly contradictory interests of the one side and the other is difficult, and the Contracting States must be allowed a considerable margin of discretion in this respect.