Geo News: Between Index and Illusion: Pakistan’s Free Speech Paradox

By Anam Baloch Free speech isn’t just ink on parchment in Pakistan’s constitution under Article 19, but it is the very essence of democracy in states. With the emergence of the internet, we’ve witnessed a nexus between the ‘online and offline’ and now speech as we see it has also become digital. As users of […]

Daktilo 1984: Freedom of Expression in Turkey: Between Public Support and State Suppression

By Gürkan Özturan As the Future Free Speech project released its latest report, the findings on Turkey paint an interesting image. Turkish society seems to predominantly have a strong sense of support for freedom of expression, in principle. Yet experiences lived in the country deeply contradict this support, as the reality shows that freedom remains […]

Politico Pro: FTC Inches Closer to Big Tech Crack Down

By Gabby Miller — By the numbers: The Future of Free Speech, an independent think tank at Vanderbilt University, kicked off its comments arguing that conservative voices — including accounts, influencers and news sources — outperform on social media platforms. “From engagement metrics on Facebook to favorable algorithmic treatment on X (formerly Twitter) … the […]

Reason: The FTC’s Probe Into ‘Potentially Illegal’ Content Moderation Is a Blatant Assault on the First Amendment

By Jacob Sullum [ . . . ] The FTC’s authority under Section 5 “does not, and constitutionally cannot, extend to penalizing social media platforms for how they choose to moderate user content,” Ashkhen Kazaryan, a senior legal fellow at the Future of Free Speech, argues in a comment that the organization submitted on Tuesday. “Platforms’ content […]

Vanderbilt Magazine: Speaking Freely: Five Questions for Jacob Mchangama

Jacob Mchangama was a young lawyer and blogger in 2005 when his country, Denmark, was thrust into the global spotlight after a Danish newspaper printed cartoons depicting the Islamic prophet Muhammad—a practice widely considered taboo among many Muslims. Mchangama’s fascination with free speech began as a worldwide conversation erupted about a complicated topic made even […]

Reason: The TAKE IT DOWN Act’s Good Intentions Don’t Make Up for Its Bad Policy

By Elizabeth Nolan Brown Who could possibly oppose legislation to get tough on AI-generated revenge porn? For one, Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, one of two nays in Monday’s House vote on the TAKE IT DOWN Act. For another, a whole bunch of civil liberties advocates, including folks with groups like the American Civil Liberties Union, the Electronic […]

Law360: Free Speech Experts Question DOJ Letter To Medical Journal

By Dan McKay A federal prosecutor’s letter to a medical journal skeptically asking about its commitment to nonpartisan debate is an unusual intrusion into editorial decision-making and may interfere with the publication’s First Amendment rights, free speech experts say. In a letter last week, Edward R. Martin Jr., interim U.S. attorney for the District of […]

Poder360: Freedom Must Prevail Even When It Offends, Says Researcher

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 […]

The Daily Texan: US Immigration Officials to Begin Monitoring Non-Citizen Social Media for ‘Antisemitic Activity’

By Catharine Li Federal immigration enforcement will begin screening non-citizens’ social media accounts for “antisemitic activity” as grounds for denying visa and green card applications, according to an April 9 announcement from the Department of Homeland Security. . . . Ashkhen Kazaryan, fellow for the First Amendment at the Freedom Forum and senior legal fellow at the Future of Free […]

Paso a Paso: Joan Barata: “Social Media Reflects Countries’ Problems; Others Believe It’s The Other Way Around”

Rough English Translation. Original in Spanish.  By José Cáceres SANTO DOMINGO.- Joan Barata, an international expert on freedom of expression and social media, and a world-renowned university professor, proclaimed that today’s world is fraught with “major challenges” regarding the management of freedom of expression and social media. He asserted that many believe that social media […]