We, the undersigned organisations, extend our solidarity to independent media and the satirical site Zomri in Slovakia, which are facing an increasing crackdown in the aftermath of the assassination attempt on Prime Minister Robert Fico. We urge government representatives and politicians to cease these attacks and instead rise to the challenge of calming societal tensions. […]
By J.D. Tuccille Among those who think the United States is an unseemly cesspool of unrestrained opinions voiced by those people, Europe is often touted as an alternative for speech regulation. European Union law, following in the footsteps of national legislation, imposes enforceable duties on private platforms to purge “hate speech” and “disinformation”—or else. But free speech […]
By Jordi Calvet-Bademunt Overview: In April and May, the European Commission opened three formal proceedings involving very large online platforms (VLOPs), two against Meta and one against TikTok. Also, starting in April, Pornhub, Stripchat, and XVideos began complying with the Digital Services Act’s (DSA) VLOP rules after being designated in December 2023. Moreover, Shein, an online […]
By Marc Thibodeau (Rough English Translation) Pressure on social networks in Europe to restrict hateful content online is leading to the unnecessary removal of an alarming number of perfectly legal messages, denounces an American organization defending freedom of expression. In a new study, researchers from The Future of Free Speech point out that more than […]
By Jordi Calvet-Bademunt and Joan Barata This piece is part of a series that marks the first 100 days since the full implementation of Europe’s Digital Services Act. You can read more items in the series here. The adoption of the Digital Services Act (DSA) represented a major development within the context of the EU and beyond. Based […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NASHVILLE, Tenn. May 28, 2024 —Digital regulations in France, Germany and Sweden could be stifling free expression on social media platforms, according to a new report by The Future of Free Speech at Vanderbilt University. The report, titled “Preventing ‘Torrents of Hate’ or Stifling Free Expression Online? An Assessment of Social Media […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NASHVILLE, Tenn. May 20, 2024 —The Future of Free Speech, a nonpartisan think tank dedicated to restoring a resilient global culture of free speech, announced its submission of a public comment to Meta’s Oversight Board regarding the moderation of the phrase “From the River to the Sea” on its platforms. The comment […]
By Natalie Alkiviadou Introduction Article 17 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), commonly referred to as the ‘abuse clause,’ provides that: “Nothing in [the] Convention may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the […]
By Jacob Mchangama In January 2015, Islamic terrorists murdered 12 people at the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo for depicting the Prophet Muhammad. When PEN America honored the magazine with its Freedom of Expression Courage Award that same year, the organization received backlash from prominent members. Then-PEN president Andrew Solomon stood by the decision, saying that the controversy was a reminder that […]
By Jordi Calvet-Bademunt “When we started this work, we were curious. Now, we have real concerns.” The CEO of the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA), the British antitrust regulator, was referring to the competition risks her team has identified in the foundation models industry. Foundation models are a type of generative AI. Popular models include OpenAI’s GPT-4 and Google’s […]