FREEDOM OF THE PRESS AND THE RIGHT TO FREEDOM IN THE BRAZILIAN LEGAL ORDER: BALANCING AND LIMITS IN THE DIGITAL ERA

Abstract

This paper analyzes freedom of the press and its limits regarding personality rights in the Brazilian legal system, investigating how the Federal Supreme Court (STF) balances communicative freedoms and the protection of honor, image, and private life in the context of digital platforms. The research is qualitative and analytical, based on bibliographic review and documentary analysis of the Court's precedents, adopting the deductive method. It examines ADPF 130 and ADIs 4,451 and 4,815, Theme 995 of general repercussion (RE 1,075,412), in its judgment on the merits and in the refinement of its thesis through motion for clarification in 2025, and the June 2025 ruling that declared Article 19 of the Brazilian Internet Civil Framework partially unconstitutional (Themes 533 and 987). Results indicate that freedom of expression holds a relative preferred position in the constitutional architecture, with prior censorship prohibited, but it is not absolute: civil liability of media outlets for third-party statements depends on proof of bad faith, characterized by intent or gross negligence, while application providers became subject to different regimes according to the nature of the unlawful content. It concludes that the STF has been refining its criteria to balance the free flow of information and the protection of human dignity, although jurisprudential dispersion, risks of judicial harassment against journalists, and institutional tensions, such as those raised by Inquiry 4,781/DF, persist.