Persuasion: Don’t Resort to Censorship to Fight Populism

By Jacob Mchangama Last Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio went on X to announce the immediate revocation of the visa of Brazilian Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes, as well as “his allies on the court [and] their immediate family members.” What drove Rubio to take such a drastic step against leading members of the […]

CTRL-ALT-SPEECH: Live at TrustCon 2025

Trust & safety influencer Alice Hunsberger and The Future of Free Speech Senior Legal Fellow Ashkhen Kazaryan joined Mike Masnick to cover: As millions adopt Grok to fact-check, misinformation abounds (Al Jazeera) Analysis Of Grok’s Epstein Comments Show How This AI Chatbot Is Learning (Forbes) People With Body Dysmorphia Are Spiraling Out After Asking AI to Rate […]

The Dynamist Podcast: A Free Speech Recession?

Is free speech in global decline? A new survey suggests public support for free expression is dropping worldwide, with citizens in authoritarian countries like Venezuela and Hungary showing stronger commitment to free speech than many living in democracies. From the unfulfilled digital promises of the Arab Spring to Europe’s controversial Digital Services Act, the Internet […]

Otempo: Moraes’ Decision and Freedom of Expression

Photo Credit: Senado Federal By Alexander Barroso  The latest ruling by Justice Alexandre de Moraes of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) has reignited a heated debate about the limits of freedom of expression and the role of justice in Brazilian democracy. On the 21st, Moraes ruled that former President Jair Bolsonaro is prohibited from giving […]

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: AG Bailey’s ‘Jawboning’ Attack on AI Violates The 1st Amendment

By Ashkhen Kazaryan and Ashley Haek A 2023 complaint filed by Missouri, Louisiana, and other individual plaintiffs against the Biden administration argued that executive branch officials “coerced, threatened, and pressured social-media platforms to censor disfavored speakers and viewpoints by using threats of adverse government action,” thus violating the First Amendment. That lawsuit alleged that the […]

Claudio Dantas Podcast: Moraes Practices “Necrophilia” with Liberal Philosopher, Says Freedom of Expression Expert

Photo credit: Marcelo Camargo   Jacob Mchangama uses the word “necrophilia” to describe how Minister Alexandre de Moraes interpreted and applied John Stuart Mill’s ideas in his decision to ban the Rumble platform in Brazil. Mchangama argues that Moraes “vandalized the main point” of Mill’s work, “On Liberty,” by using it to justify censorship. He […]

Gazeta Do Povo: Where Is Freedom of Expression Heading in Brazil?

By Erich Thomas Mafra The global decline in freedom of expression isn’t limited to authoritarian states, but is also affecting established democracies. This assertion comes from one of the world’s most respected voices on the topic of freedom of expression: Danish lawyer Jacob Mchangama . According to him, “democracies are increasingly restricting freedom of expression. […]

Volokh Conspiracy: Hate Speech and The European Court of Human Rights: An Overview of My New Book

By Natalie Alkiviadou  In a series of guest blog posts at The Volokh Conspiracy, Natalie Alkiviadou summarized key ideas in her new book, Hate Speech and the European Court of Human Rights. Part 1: Hate Speech and The European Court of Human Rights: An Overview of My New Book July 15, 2015 The European Court […]

JOTA: Trump Misses the Target; But What about Us? Do We Hit The Target?

Photo Credit: Palácio do Planalto By Fernanda Trompcynski  Last week, the global debate over freedom of expression took on even more serious and worrying dimensions. US President Donald Trump announced the imposition of a 50% tariff on imports of all Brazilian products, generating concerns about the national economy, as the US is Brazil’s second-largest trading […]

The Future of Free Speech Urges Missouri AG to Withdraw Unconstitutional Social Media Regulation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NASHVILLE, Tenn. — July 14, 2025 — A sweeping new rule proposed by the Missouri Attorney General would turn state regulators into online speech overseers, warns The Future of Free Speech in a public comment submitted Monday. The rule, labeled as a consumer protection measure, in fact mandates ideological balance in content […]