Photo credit: Marcelo Camargo
Jacob Mchangama uses the word “necrophilia” to describe how Minister Alexandre de Moraes interpreted and applied John Stuart Mill’s ideas in his decision to ban the Rumble platform in Brazil. Mchangama argues that Moraes “vandalized the main point” of Mill’s work, “On Liberty,” by using it to justify censorship. He explains that Mill, in fact, argued that even false information and misconceptions should not be banned, as the clash of opinions leads to a clearer understanding of the truth. Mchangama also criticizes Moraes’s decision to ban Rumble in Brazil, stating that the ruling distorts John Stuart Mill’s ideas on freedom of expression. He points out that Moraes invoked a 1919 U.S. Supreme Court decision to justify his decision, a decision that allowed the U.S. government to punish peaceful protests and has long since been reversed. Mchangama emphasizes that the U.S. Supreme Court protects false information except in very specific circumstances and expresses concern that a Supreme Court justice could manipulate or ignore these historical precedents.
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Jacob Mchangama is the Founder and Executive Director of The Future of Free Speech. He is also a research professor at Vanderbilt University and a Senior Fellow at The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE).