Convicted Sex Offender Advocates for Social Media Access as a Human Right

A man convicted of molesting a minor and using Snapchat to connect with young boys is appealing to the Norwegian Supreme Court to declare that access to social media is a human right. The man was sentenced to prison and banned from using Snapchat for two years. His lawyers argue that this ban violates the European Convention on Human Rights. The case highlights the importance of social media in freedom of expression, despite the fact that current laws do not specifically address these platforms. The defendant’s appeal against the ban was unsuccessful, with the state justifying it as a measure to prevent further exploitation of children. The case could potentially be brought to the European Court of Human Rights. The European convention has been previously used to challenge Norwegian justice, as seen in the case of Anders Behring Breivik. Norway was one of the early signatories to the convention, which guarantees rights such as freedom of expression. Snapchat has measures in place to prevent child sexual exploitation on their platform. The Norwegian Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling on this case in the near future.