By Julia Tar Civil society groups and academics have criticised European Commissioner Thierry Breton’s recent letter to Elon Musk, the owner of the social media platform X, arguing that it misinterprets the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) and threatens free expression. The Open Letters In one of the letters, dated Wednesday (21 August), signed by The […]
By Jackson Walker The free speech advocates on Wednesday rebuked Breton for appearing to “disregard” free expression in favor of enforcing DSA. “Your letter reflects an alarming disregard for freedom of expression,” the letter reads. “It is inconsistent with the design of the Digital Services Act (DSA) and, indeed, with the very spirit of a […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NASHVILLE, Tenn. August 21, 2024 — Today, The Future of Free Speech, TechFreedom, Institute H21, and 15 other signatories issued an open letter to Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for the Internal Market, raising serious concerns about the potential misuse of the Digital Services Act (DSA) to curtail freedom of expression in the […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NASHVILLE, Tenn. August 20, 2024 — The Future of Free Speech is thrilled to announce Sir Salman Rushdie and Masih Alinejad—two of the world’s leading advocates for freedom of expression—for our inaugural Global Free Speech Summit this fall, hosted by The Future of Free Speech and Dialogue Vanderbilt. Sir Salman Rushdie will have […]
By Jacob Mchangama and John G. Geer Americans’ views on free speech change directions every so often. One of those times was during the protests at U.S. universities about the Israel-Hamas war. As scholars of free speech and public opinion, we set out to find out what happened and why. The Supreme Court itself, as […]
By Jacob Mchangama A recent spate of neo-Nazi demonstrations in Nashville has heightened tensions in an already polarized political environment. Fortunately, there has been bipartisan condemnation of these vile and obscene efforts to promote hatred in our community. However, some Tennessee public officials want to go beyond condemnation, claiming that “hate speech is not free […]
By Jordi Calvet-Bademunt Overview: The European Commission issued the first-of-its-kind preliminary findings under the Digital Services Act (DSA). X was accused of employing a deceptive user interface, failing to adhere to advertising transparency requirements, and failing to provide researchers with adequate access to data. X now has the opportunity to respond to these preliminary findings. […]
Featuring Natalie Alkiviadou Senior Research Fellow Natalie Alkiviadou joins The Lembit Öpik Show for TNT Radio to discuss a proposed “fake news” bill in Cyprus. The bill, which Dr. Alkiviadou wrote about at Verfassungsblog, would impose a prison sentence of up to five years for those accused of spreading disinformation. Alkiviadou expresses concern about the […]
By Jordi Calvet-Bademunt Last Friday, the European Commission shared with X its preliminary view that it is breaching the Digital Services Act (DSA), Europe’s online safety rulebook. Following the announcement, some media were quick to say that the Commission had charged “Elon Musk’s X for letting disinfo run wild.” In a conspiratorial tone, Elon Musk […]
By Natalie Alkiviadou A Proposal to Criminalize Fake News in Cyprus In Cyprus, a new legislative proposal introduces a prison sentence of up to five years on those spreading fake news. I argue that criminally punishing fake news is absolutely horrifying for free speech, for media pluralism, and for democracy. Criminalizing fake news is, to say […]