TODAY there seem to be more and more debate on the topic of freedom of speech.

Any sensible society enjoys it, wants to see it flourish and will rightly defend it, if it ever comes under threat. But somewhere along the way some have missed a crucial part of freedom of speech and expression - that it has restrictions, sensible and proportionate within any right-thinking society.

Under Article 10 of the Human Rights Act 1998, “everyone has the right to freedom of expression” in the UK. But, as it continues, the law states that this freedom “may be subject to formalities, conditions, restrictions or penalties as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society.”

And those are laws in existence in Britain making it an offence for a person to use “threatening, abusive or insulting words that causes, or is likely to cause, another person harassment, alarm or distress.”

FAIR POINT: How much should freedom of speech be constrained by law?

Over the years, additional restrictions have been placed on language deemed to incite “racial and religious hatred,” as well as “hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation” and language that “encourages terrorism.” Other laws cover aspects of court reporting, which is relevant to what this newspaper publishes, and applies to social media users too.

The key to this is that debating issues can be done without racism, misogyny, or homophobia. And, guess what, freedom of speech allows people to say they won’t tolerate that language, and call it out when it is used. As long as that is not done violently, it is not only right people do so and highlight abuse, but essential.

Is this shutting debate down, as some say? No, it's using freedom of speech to ensure we live in an equal society, where people aren’t judged on the colour of their skin, or their choice of gender or partner.

What about those who go too far, inciting violence, and hiding behind freedom of speech? For some reason a myth has developed those people are “mostly from the left.” This is clearly untrue as police have been dealing with death threats sent to MPs on both sides of the commons, by offenders who claim to support parties across the political spectrum.

In reality, freedom of speech has never been so alive and well in a large part thanks to social media. I just hope those reasonable restrictions also remain at the forefront of people’s minds too.