FROM Socrates through the Magna Carta to now, the right to speak freely has been highly valued in Western society and is something we British have always prided ourselves on.

After publication of The Satanic Verses, my mother wrote to Salman Rushdie to offer refuge (not that he’d have been able to get a word in there).

Today, barely a week goes by without a protest – for peace, animals, education, job and public sector cuts, or the publication of a controversial article.

Whatever the issue, in the UK we can protest because it’s our legal right.

Contrast that with the recent uproar over the “tribute” page to Raoul Moat hosted by Facebook, where people have freely given their opinions. After all, it’s their right to do so. The fur flew, the Prime Minister got involved and there was public outrage. Facebook initially refused to close down the webpage.

People, they said, would find some topics on the site distasteful, but that is not a reason in itself to stop a debate.

Then, at Prime Minister’s Questions, our political leaders debated whether we should be allowed to exercise our freedom of speech?

People who are timid in real life can hold court from their kitchen table.

The problem is the paper rules can’t keep pace with the internet. So while what you can do legally is clearly stated, the obligations and consequences that come with such freedoms are not.

The Human Rights Act 1998 echoes the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 19: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”

We fight to speak freely, but voice our outrage when the topic is one with which polite society does not agree.

We can’t have it both ways.

In seeking answers when these matters arise, we may have to look closer to home.

Cyberspace can be a hard, insensitive and cruel place, but we can take control of our own exposure and train ourselves to self-regulate. Facebook is merely a conduit for its users and where the legal right to freedom of speech exists, Facebook is entitled to facilitate it.

■ Deborah McGargle is a consultant for BHP Innovate. Contact her at deborahmc@bhplaw.co.uk