Reason: Australia Tries To Censor the World

By J.D. Tuccille You have to respect anybody willing to tell powerful government officials to get stuffed, and tech titan Elon Musk is pretty good at doing exactly that. While sometimes thin-skinned himself and not always consistent in his free speech principles, the head of social media platform X (formerly Twitter) is the best of […]

NYU First Amendment Watch: Jacob Mchangama on the First Amendment Implications of Generative AI

By Susanna Granieri The rise of generative artificial intelligence has led to questions about its First Amendment implications — like its use by journalists or its application in defamation law — but it remains unclear how the nation’s courts will consider its potential impacts on the marketplace of ideas. The technology itself does not have rights, […]

The Critic: The new Irish hate speech law will do more harm than good

By Martin O’Reilly The government of the Republic of Ireland is currently proposing a new hate speech law, as part of the Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill, which would update the Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act 1989. It is argued the existing law, particularly on account of the presence of social media, […]

Reason: Free Speech Is Under Attack in the U.S., but It’s on the Ropes Elsewhere

“Even open democracies have implemented restrictive measures,” finds a global report. By J.D. Tuccille [ . . . ] If you think free speech is under attack in the United States—and it is—you should see its besieged status in the rest of the world. Open contempt for unrestricted debate prevails in even many supposedly “free” […]

Semafor: Content moderation laws seen as threatening freedom of speech

In Semafor’s new breaking news feed “Signals,” Diego Mendoza cites a Tech Policy Press article by Joan Barata and Jordi Calvet-Bademunt: Content moderation laws seen as threatening freedom of speech Sources: Politico, American Principles Project, Tech Policy Press Moves by the United States and the EU to tighten regulations around who can access perceived harmful […]

WGCU Interview: “Free Speech: A History from Socrates to Social Media”

At WGCU Radio in Southwest Florida, Mike Kiniry recently interviewed Jacob Mchangama about current threats to free speech and his book Free Speech: A History from Socrates to Social Media. ___ After the United States Constitution was ratified, Congress adopted ten amendments which were then ratified by three-fourths of the states, and these ten amendments […]

Politico Pro: The Content Wars: Analyzing Chatbot Content Policies

In the Friday, March 1, 2024 POLITICO Pro Morning Tech Newsletter (Subscriber Only), Mallory Culhane and John Hende cite The Future of Free Speech‘s latest report, “Freedom of Expression in Generative AI – A Snapshot of Content Policies”: THE CONTENT WARS  ANALYZING CHATBOT CONTENT POLICIES — Some of the most popular chatbots’ policies on hate speech and […]

The Guardian: Democracy’s Super Bowl: 40 elections that will shape global politics in 2024

Simon Tisdall mentions The Future of Free Speech’s new research on free speech developments in 22 democracies in the report “The Free Speech Recession Hits Home‘ “The principle of free speech, essential to fully functioning democracy, is also under attack, rights campaigner Jacob Mchangama argued in Foreign Policy magazine. “Even open democracies have imposed restrictive measures to […]

Cato: Is Freedom of Expression Dangerous? No, Study Finds More Expression Helps Us Handle Conflict

Free speech scholars and advocates have written about the general decline in freedom of expression that has occurred over the past two decades. Despite great technological advances that make communicating immensely easier—social media, encrypted communications, and ubiquitous computers and cell phones—many governmental policies and public opinion around the world have soured on the importance of expression. In this recession of free speech, […]