The Future of Free Speech Submission to Meta’s Oversight Board on “From the River to the Sea”

Background The Future of Free Speech (FoFS) is an independent, non-partisan think tank located at Vanderbilt University. FoFS’ comment focuses on some of the issues identified by the Oversight Board and particularly Meta’s human rights responsibilities in relation to using the phrase “From the river to the sea”, including freedom of expression, freedom of association, […]

Public hearing on danish ban of improper treatment of objects of significant religious significance to a religious community

Read the public hearing (in danish)   Proposal L133: Arguments against its implementation Restricts freedom of expression: The proposal restricts freedom of expression, as it can be used to punish symbolic expressions critical of religions. This is contrary to the principle of freedom of expression, which is a central pillar of a democratic society and […]

Consultation response: The Practical Application of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights to Activities of Technology Companies

Introduction Technology companies offer people around the world endless possibilities to share and impart information and express their opinions and beliefs quickly and without cost on social media platforms (SMPs). There are 4.62 billion users (58.4% of the global population) spending an average of 2h 27m per day on social media. This has revolutionized human […]

Consultation response: Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill

Our written submission to the Scottish Parliament on the Hate Crime and Public Order Bill. See our contribution see here.  See a list of contributions.  Brief summary of our views: Whilst welcoming the abolishment of blasphemy, we are concerned about (i) the freedom of expression implications of the Bill (ii) the integration of speech and […]