Abstract
Department of Law and Public Policy Faculty of Contemporary Social Studies,Osaka International UniversityThere have been a variety of theories and court cases on the issue of freedom of expression. This paper tries to analyze the concept of freedom of expression in terms of the impacts of new media such as the Internet have on society. The concept of freedom of expression in the traditional media and the concept of freedom of expression in the new media are not the same thing. It has to be admitted that freedom of expression has not been sufficiently protected under the current situation in the new media represented by the Internet. This is due to the fact that circumstances surrounding the new media have changed greatly.