SWI Swissinfo: Counterspeech: What Can Be Done against Hate Speech on The Internet in 2025

By Benjamin von Wyl Hate speech is considered a threat to society and democracy. At a time when Facebook and Instagram allow more statements, the commitment of volunteers who respond to hate – with so-called counterspeech – is becoming more important. [ . . . ] Opponents of content moderation for counterspeech The Institute “The […]

Politiken: When Amnesty Turns ‘Immigrant Boys’ and ‘Fools’ into Hate Speech, Something Has Gone Wrong

In a new piece in the Danish newspaper Politken, Jacob Mchangama argues that, if adopted, Amnesty International Denmark’s recommendations from a new report on hate speech would undermine free speech and increase government surveillance. Here is a summary of his arguments. Amnesty International Denmark claims to defend free speech but argues that free speech itself […]

Censorship in the Sciences: The Free Speech Recession and How to Reverse It

From Censorship in the Sciences: Interdisciplinary Perspectives conference at the University of Southern California, Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. Jacob Mchangama discusses The Free Speech Recession and How to Reverse It: 5 Lessons from History.

Tech Policy Press: Will the DSA Save Democracy? The Test of the Recent Presidential Election in Romania

By Joan Barata Voting manipulation through social media platforms. Illegal campaign financing on TikTok. Cyber-attacks. Suspected Russian interference. The circumstances around Romania’s troubled December presidential election bear all the hallmarks of a modern political thriller. But the circumstances around the election and its annulment also present an opportunity to consider the application of Europe’s Digital Services Act […]

Le Point: Repeal the Offense of Apology for Terrorism? A Necessary Debate

By Jacob Mchangama The abuse of “apology for terrorism” laws became particularly evident after Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7. What if the cure was worse than the disease? Article 11 of the 1789 French Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen – the edifice of the French Revolution – guarantees all […]

El Diario: EU Drags Its Feet in the Face of Musk and Zuckerberg’s Challenge Amid The Fervor of the Far Right

By Irene Castro and Carlos del Castillo The spread of fake news and disinformation was one of the major issues facing the European Union during the last legislative period, when new legislation was introduced to regulate online life. The intention of the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act (DSA) is to make […]

Persuasion: Don’t Mourn the Fact-Checkers

Misguided decisions and the superiority of crowdsourcing mean Zuckerberg was right to change direction. But he must also keep Trump at arm’s length. By Jacob Mchangama The Great American Vibe Shift, rapidly reshaping U.S. culture and politics, has landed at 1 Hacker Way—the gleaming Palo Alto headquarters of Meta. In a video this week, Meta founder and […]

France 24: France’s ‘Schizophrenic’ Approach to Freedom of Expression Helps Erode It, Researcher Says

From the show A Propos France has marked 10 years since an Islamist attack on the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo that shocked the country and led to fierce debate about freedom of expression and religion. FRANCE 24’s Sharon Gaffney speaks to Jacob Mchangama, founder of “The Future of Free Speech” think tank and research professor […]

WSJ: Banning TikTok Would Violate America’s Free Speech Tradition

By Jacob Mchangama and Jeff Kosseff A heavy-handed new law forced TikTok to announce that it would shut down operations “within days.” Although the law left people without a popular forum to share and access information, a government official brushed off free speech concerns, saying that the ban did not mean “doom and gloom” for the […]