Our Perspectives

Jacob Mchangama is human rights lawyer in Denmark. He is the founder and executive director of Justitia, a think tank which aims to promote the rule of law and fundamental human rights and freedom rights both within Denmark and abroad by educating and influencing policy experts, decision-makers, and the public. From 2018-2020, Jacob hosted a podcast, […]

The shooting in Buffalo last month was but the latest example of terrorist attacks becoming a lethal outlet for white supremacist grievances. What connects much of this violent right-wing extremism is that the perpetrators are radicalized or share their ideas—sometimes even stream their terrorist attacks—online. In fact, several terrorists have explicitly cited other terrorists as inspiration for their deadly deeds in […]

Justitia CEO Jacob Mchangama discusses the threat to free speech around the world on PBS The Open Mind. Watch the interview on PBS landingpage.

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 […]

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 […]