By Conor Friedersdorf American officials are waging a multifront attack on Europe’s approach to free speech. This month, a congressional delegation traveled to Dublin, Brussels, and London to probe and decry European regulations on digital speech. A State Department human-rights assessment issued last week pointed to objectionable “restrictions on freedom of expression” in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. All of […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
For Jacob Mchangama, we are living in a recession. However, he’s not talking about finances or unemployment, but rather about freedom of expression. The Danish professor, an expert on the subject, is director of The Future of Free Speech, a think tank based at Vanderbilt University in the United States. And although Mchangama is not […]
By Paulo Silva Pinto and Leo Garfinkel Joan Barata, a freedom-of-expression scholar at Vanderbilt University in the United States, says the right to voice an opinion must be preserved even when it makes others uncomfortable. “The right to freedom of expression includes the right to shock, disturb, and offend—three very strong verbs. You have the […]
By Angele Latham The U.S. has fallen from third to ninth place in the global ranking for support of free speech rights since 2021, according to a new study published by The Future of Free Speech at Vanderbilt University. The annual study, titled “Who in the World Supports Free Speech?” surveyed over 52,000 people about their support […]
By Natalie Alkiviadou On the 7th January 2025, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR/Court) delivered the judgment of Minasyan and Others v. Armenia (2025). It addressed critical issues of hate speech, discrimination and the state’s positive obligations under Article 8 (the right to respect for private and family life) in conjunction with Article 14 (the prohibition of […]
U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance’s accusations of censorship have angered Europeans. Many Americans, however, believe he is right—even though the White House itself restricts free speech. By Fabian Fellmann [ . . . ] Trump’s Own Assault on the Press More free speech would benefit Europe, agrees Jacob Mchangama. “Europe sees free expression too much […]
By Jacob Mchangama Last week, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance shocked an A-list group of European political and military leaders at the Munich Security Conference in Germany with a blunt message: Europe has gone too far in restricting speech. According to Vance, the main threat against European security does not emanate from Russia or China, but […]