In the 2026 edition of our report, we explore how public governance of generative artificial intelligence (AI) shapes the space for free expression and access to information.
Since OpenAI launched ChatGPT in November 2022, generative AI has moved from a novelty to a tool embedded in everyday communication and information access. As its reach has grown, so has the urgency for legislators around the world to determine how it should be governed, and what that governance means for freedom of expression and access to information.
What the Report Covers
The 2026 edition of this report examines AI legislation, bills, policies, and case law in the European Union, Nigeria, Peru, Sweden, Türkiye, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Vietnam. It considers how these frameworks shape freedom of expression and access to information across election and political content, hate speech, defamation, explicit content, copyright, and measures that empower freedom of expression. This edition adds dedicated sections on protection of minors and AI-powered surveillance, reflecting these increasingly salient issues.
Recognizing generative AI’s growing impact on freedom of expression and access to information, The Future of Free Speech undertook a first-of-its-kind analysis in 2025 of how national legislation and corporate practices shape expression in the era of generative AI. That report analyzed AI legislation in Brazil, China, the European Union, India, the Republic of Korea, and the United States. This year, we built on those findings and expanded them considerably.
Executive Summary (2026)
Chapters (2026)
European Union — Jordi Calvet-Bademunt [Download]
Nigeria — Tomiwa Ilori [Download]
Peru — Matías González Mama, Lina Palacios, and Francesca Chocano Villanueva [Download]
Sweden — Emmanuel Vargas Penagos, Katalin Kelemen, and Sandi Rizvic [Download]
Türkiye — Yaman Akdeniz [Download]
United Kingdom — Eliza Bechtold [Download]
United States — Isabelle Anzabi and Ashkhen Kazaryan [Download]
Vietnam — Trịnh Hữu Long [Download]
Executive Summary (2025)
Chapters (2025)
The 2025 edition analyzed AI legislation in four additional jurisdictions.
Brazil — Carlos Affonso Souza — [Download]
China — Ge Chen — [Download]
India — Sangeeta Mahapatra — [Download]
Republic of Korea — Kyung Sin (K.S.) Park — [Download]
About The Future of Free Speech
The Future of Free Speech is an independent, nonpartisan think tank based at Vanderbilt University. Our mission is to reaffirm freedom of expression as the foundation of free and thriving societies through actionable research, practical tools, and principled advocacy. We envision a world in which the right to freedom of expression is safeguarded by law and strengthened by a culture that embraces diverse viewpoints.
This project was led by Jordi Calvet-Bademunt (Senior Research Fellow), Jacob Mchangama (Executive Director), and Isabelle Anzabi (Research Associate) at The Future of Free Speech.
Sponsors
The Future of Free Speech is especially grateful to the Rising Tide Foundation and the Swedish Postcode Lottery Foundation for their generous support of this work. We also thank Vanderbilt University for its collaboration and ongoing support of our organization.
About The Authors
Jordi Calvet-Bademunt is a Senior Research Fellow at The Future of Free Speech and a Visiting Scholar at Vanderbilt University. His research focuses on free speech in the digital space.
Isabelle Anzabi is a research associate at The Future of Free Speech, where she analyzes the intersections between AI policy and freedom of expression.
Jacob Mchangama is the Founder and Executive Director of The Future of Free Speech. He is also a research professor at Vanderbilt University and a Senior Fellow at The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE).
Ashkhen Kazaryan is a Senior Legal Fellow at The Future of Free Speech, where she leads initiatives to protect free expression and shape policies that uphold the First Amendment in the digital age.
Dr. Eliza Bechtold is the Programmes Manager and a Research Fellow at the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights at the University of Oxford, where she is also a member of the Law Faculty.
Emmanuel Vargas Penagos is a PhD researcher in Law at Örebro University, focusing on the Human Rights implications of automated content moderation.
Francesca is a law student and teaching assistant at Universidad del Pacífico; she is Research Assistant at CELE at the University of Palermo in Argentina.
Katalin Kelemen is Associate Professor in Law. Her primary area of research is comparative law, in particular comparative constitutional law, judicial reasoning, judicial dissent, East-Central European and Nordic legal systems.
Lina Palacios is a Researcher of the Latin America Regional Area. Lina holds a Law degree from Universidad del Rosario, with an emphasis on legal theory and the humanities.
Matías González Mama is a Senior Coordinator and researcher of the Latin America Regional Area at the Center for Studies on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information (CELE).
Sandi Rizvic is a Bachelor of Legal Science candidate at Örebro University, specializing in international and digital law.
Tomiwa Ilori (LLM, LLD) is a human rights scholar and practitioner; he is currently a senior technology and human rights researcher at Human Rights Watch.
Trịnh Hữu Long is the co-founder and Executive Director of Legal Initiatives for Vietnam, a nonprofit media organization.
Yaman Akdeniz is Professor of Law at the Faculty of Law, Istanbul Bilgi University, and a co-founder of the Freedom of Expression Association (İFÖD).