Our Perspectives

Liberal democracies are passing online speech laws. They’re inspiring autocrats. Nothing more sharply differentiates liberal democracies from authoritarian regimes than the former’s commitment to freedom of expression. Despite controlling vast bureaucracies with near-infinite resources and overwhelming coercive powers, democratic governments generally accept that their actions are scrutinized, criticized, and ridiculed by the media, opposition, and ordinary citizens. […]

This short piece has been inspired by the case of Sanchez v France which was decided by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) this year and which I argue, hereinafter, is yet another worrying development in the framework of freedom of expression. This case involved the criminal conviction of the applicant for inciting hatred […]

At 6 a.m. on September 8, the German Twitter user @pauli_zoo was awoken by six police officers demanding access to his home. They were there to gather evidence for a criminal investigation. What potential crime prompted this? Calling the interior and sports minister for the city of Hamburg “a dick” on Twitter. This is hardly the first […]

How is expertise being redefined in the modern era? a16z posed that question to 20+ experts. The line-up includes those that society might traditionally categorize as such — academics, scientists, researchers — as well as authorities in their own domains: a sci-fi novelist, an award-winning illustrator, gamers, prominent and emerging newsletter writers, and startup builders. Here is our […]

بعد مرور عقد على الربيع العربي، لا يزال العالم العربي يناضل ليتوافق مع أعراف الديمقراطية، وحرياتها. يُظهر استطلاع عالمي جديد، يشمل لبنان ومصر وتونس، مدى التناقضات في المواقف تجاه حرية التعبير، مسلطاً الضوء على تجربة الانتقال إلى الديمقراطية، التي تكون، عادةً، تجربة مؤلمة. وفقًا لاستطلاعٍ بعنوان «من يهتم بحرية التعبير»، الذي أُجري بتكليف من مركز […]

Executive Director Jacob Mchangamas op-ed in French Slate. Read it here.  

Read our op-ed in venezuealian El Pitazo.  English tranlation: Is Venezuela the most pro free speech country in the world? From looking at international rankings of political freedom and press freedom, one would not think so. The country is ranked “Not Free” by the organization Freedom House (an abysmal 14 points out of 100), and […]

What do a 22-year-old climate activist, a journalist reporting on a gang rape case and a politician supporting a farmers’ protest have in common? They have all recently been charged with sedition as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government’s wider crackdown on free speech targeting journalists, leaders of the opposition, protestors, students and even […]

In today’s India, civil society and citizens must realise that if tide against cracking down on free speech is to be turned, developing support for free speech is important Read the full piece by Jacob Mchangama and Raghav Mendiratta.