Op-eds etc.
Banning political symbols sets a dangerous precedent Having experienced the warmth and openness of Victorians, the idea of the Garden State as a stomping ground for neo-Nazi efforts to establish a Fourth Reich Down Under seems bizarre. Yet, Victoria is set to enact a law banning the public display of Nazi swastikas ‘to stamp out […]
Der Publizist Jacob Mchangama findet es richtig, dass auf Twitter bald wieder alles gesagt werden darf. Dass Elon Musk die einflussreiche Plattform aber im Alleingang übernommen hat, hält er für gefährlich. Read the full piece
In 2017, a group of tech executives prostrated themselves before hostile British MPs who demanded tougher action on hate speech. Twitter´s representative announced that the platform was abandoning its “John Stuart Mill-style philosophy“, declaring it was “no longer possible to stand up for all speech”. Yet, Elon Musk´s recent acquisition of Twitter for $44bn is premised on […]
The EU is passing legislation that will weaken free speech laws beyond the breaking point. Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter has caused fear and loathing among pundits and politicians wary of his vow to revert the platform to its position as “the free speech wing of the free speech party.” These fearful elites might seek solace in Europe, where Musk’s techno-utopian […]
Opinion: America has a long history of defending free speech, even speech that hurts. Shutting it down now could have real repercussions for our nation. Read the full piece
The Forum on Information and Democracy announces the creation of the Working group on accountability regimes for social network accounts. Its steering committee will be chaired by Kjersti Loken Stavrum, CEO of the media holding company Tinius Trust and President of Pen Norway, and Damian Tambini, Distinguished Policy Fellow at the London School of Economics […]
The invasion of Ukraine is forcing a realignment of countries on the democratic spectrum to choose whether they will join the liberal democracies or a new authoritarian world order. A second or virtual front is taking place online to rupture Putin’s new Iron Curtain through cyber attacks, as well as interventions from non-state actors such […]
“Fake news” can be harmful, but freedom of expression and access to information is the best way to defeat Putin’s propaganda. The European Union in early March banned Russian state-sponsored media outlets RT and Sputnik from broadcasting, as a response to the nefarious pro-Kremlin disinformation and propaganda dominating those outlets’ coverage of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. The ban […]
Jacob Mchangama piece in the Canadian The Globe and Mail.
The roots of free speech are ancient, deep, and sprawling. The Athenian statesman Pericles extolled the democratic values of open debate and tolerance of social dissent in 431 BC. In the ninth century, the irreverent freethinker Ibn al-Rawandi used the fertile intellectual climate of the Abbasid caliphate to question prophecy and holy books. In 1582, […]