Commentary

Op-eds, blog posts, presentations, etc. on the future of free speech.

CELE: Threatening Dynamics on Internet Governance: The Case of Europe and The Digital Services Act (DSA)

Tech Policy Press: Safeguarding Freedom of Expression in the AI Era

Human Rights Here: Platform Liability, Hate Speech, and the Fundamental Right to Free Speech

Volokh Conspiracy: Book Review: “Fearless Speech” Doesn’t Take First Amendment History Seriously

International Press Institute: Media Freedom and Pluralism in The Republic of Cyprus: An Overview

MSNBC: California’s Solution to Fight AI Disinformation Is Worse than The Problem

Persuasion: Reflections on Right-Wing Cancel Culture

UnHerd: Meta Outshines Musk on Free Speech with ‘From the River to the Sea’ Decision

Tech Policy Press: New United Nations Cybercrime Convention Sets Unprecedented International Anti-Human Rights Standard

The Conversation: Americans Love Free Speech, Survey Finds − Until They Realize Everyone Else Has It, Too

The Tennessean: Nashville Leaders Should Condemn Neo-Nazis But Avoid New Laws That Will Stifle Free Speech

Tech Policy Press: Digital Services Act Roundup: June – July 2024

Tech Policy Press: DSA Showdown: Unpacking the EU’s Preliminary Findings Against X

Verfassungsblog: Prison for Fake News

Lawfare: In NetChoice Cases, SCOTUS Reaffirms Limits to Government Intervention With Online Speech

Tech Policy Press: Most Comments Deleted From Social Media Platforms in Germany, France, and Sweden Were Legal Speech — Why That Should Raise Concerns for Free Expression Online

Media Laws: Will the EMFA Improve Freedom of Expression, Media Pluralism, and Media Independence in Europe?

Tech Policy Press: Digital Services Act Roundup: April – May 2024

Tech Policy Press: The Digital Services Act Meets the AI Act

Human Rights Here: Article 17 of the ECHR and the Run-Down to Lenis v Greece

The Daily Beast: PEN America Is Right to Stay Out of Gaza War Activism

Tech Policy Press: Generative AI Developers Should Commit to Free Speech and Access to Information

Reason: Should Free Speech Pessimists Look to Europe?

The Conversation: AI Chatbots Refuse to Produce ‘Controversial’ Output − Why That’s A Free Speech Problem

Tech Policy Press: Digital Services Act Roundup: February – March 2024

Naples Daily News: Florida Abandons Free Speech Principles to Combat DEI Excesses

Persuasion: How to Fight Misinformation Without Censorship

WSJ: J.K. Rowling Is Right to Protest Hate-Speech Laws

Schweizer Monat: Censorship Doesn’t Prevent Hatred

amaBhungane: There is a Global Free Speech Recession and South Africa is not immune

Lawfare: Have Trouble Understanding Section 230? Don’t Worry. So Does the Supreme Court.

TIME: The Future of Censorship Is AI-Generated

Tech Policy Press: Digital Services Act Roundup – July 2023 – January 2024

Unherd: Beware the WEF’s new misinformation panic

NYT: Social Media Is a Mess. Government Meddling Would Only Make It Worse.

Foreign Policy: Evidence Is Growing That Free Speech Is Declining

Daily Beast: Anti-Blasphemy Laws Are Great for Tyrants, but Terrible for Dissidents

Persuasion: Free Speech Defenders Must Be Consistent

DSA Obersvatory: The Out-of-court Settlement Mechanism under the DSA – Questions and Doubts

Reason: Denmark May Ban Burning the Quran

TIME: Denmark and Sweden’s Commitment to Free Speech Is Wilting in the Face of Quran Burnings

Wired: The Internet Speech Case That the Supreme Court Can’t Dodge

Unherd: Sweden and Denmark bow to pressure over Quran book burnings

Foreign Policy: Free Speech Social Media Doesn’t Exist

Social Media Age Requirements Are Anti-Free Speech

Time: How to Kill Online Free Speech

Tech Policy Press: Regulating Online Platforms Beyond the Marco Civil in Brazil – The Controversial “Fake News Bill”

Opnio Juris: Hate Speech by Proxy – Sanchez v France and the Dwindling Protection of Freedom of Expression

The Daily Beast: The First Amendment Is the Greatest Defense for the Powerless and Marginalized

New York Times: What Protects Fox News Also Protects Our Democracy

Wired: It’s Time to Stop Arresting People for Trolling the Government

Foreign Policy: U.S. Conservatives Are Threatening Global Free Speech

Reason: Privileging Blasphemy Norms Over Open Inquiry Plays Into the Hands of Religious Fundamentalists

Los Angeles Times: Don’t be too tempted by Europe’s plan to fix social media

TIME: What Elon Musk Gets Wrong About Free Speech

The Daily Beast: U.K.’s Crackdown on Anti-Royal Protests Makes U.S. Free Speech Look Good

TIME: In A War of Ideas, Banning Russian Propaganda Does More Harm Than Good

StrasbourgObserver: A joke-telling lawyer: The case of Simic v. Bosnia and Herzegovina

New York Daily News: The larger legacy of Rushdie’s ‘Satanic Verses’

Taz: Gut gemeinte Zensur

Human Rights Here: Banning Russia Today and Sputnik in Europe is a bad idea

Cato Institute: What We Can Learn from the History of Free Speech

Persuasion: Banning Hate Speech Won’t End Extremist Violence

PBS The Open Mind: March of the Autocracies

Spectator Australia: Don’t mention the swastika

NZZ Magazine: Auf Twitter soll bald wieder totale Meinungsfreiheit herrschen. Ist das gut?

The Independent: What will Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter mean for free speech?

Foreign Policy: The Real Threat to Social Media Is Europe

Azcentral: Why silencing speech, even hurtful speech, makes us more intolerant

Forum on Information and Democracy Launches Working Group on Social Network Accountability Regimes

Democratic recession or breaking point for the “bulwark of liberty”?

Daily Beast: The Problem With Banning Russian Disinformation

The Globe and Mail: Joe Rogan, Spotify and the dangers imposed by private threats to free speech

Foreing Affairs: The War on Free Speech – Censorship’s Global Rise

Wall Street Journal: Will Banning Hate Speech Make Europe Safer?

Unherd: Banning RT is a Soviet — not western — tactic

Persuasion: A Race to the Bottom on Internet Censorship

OpnioJuris: Hate Speech by Proxy – Sanchez v France and the Dwindling Protection of Freedom of Expression

Persuasion: Americans, Don’t Envy European Speech Codes!

a16z: 21 Experts on the Future of Expertise

Raseef22: حرية التعبير في العالم العربي… إلى أين؟

Opinio Juris: Freedom of Expression and Its Slow Demise: The Case of Online Hate Speech (and Its Moderation/Regulation)

Slate: Aussi surprenant que cela puisse paraître, la liberté d’expression est une notion fragile en France

El Pitazo: ¿Por qué está en declive la libertad de expresión en el mundo y en Venezuela?

Lawfare: Time To End India’s War on Sedition

India Express: Supporting free speech, but not criticism of government

Who Cares About Free Speech – Media Coverage

Foreign Policy: People Want Free Speech—for Themselves

Human Rights Here: God “does not and cannot bless sin” – Hate Speech Laws: Quo Vadis?

Opinio Juris: India’s IT Rules, 2021: Incompatible with the ICCPR and a Fatal Blow to Democratic Discourse

Lawfare: Rushing to Judgment – Examining Government Mandated Content Moderation

Arc Digital: The Purge of Trumpism

Foreign Policy: How to Judge Facebook’s New Judges

ECHR BLOG: ‘Hate Speech’ Jurisprudence of the ECtHR through a Qualitative and Quantitative Lens

Euractiv: The Digital Berlin Wall: How Germany built a prototype for online censorship

Verfassungsblog: No Country for Dissent – Twitter’s anticipatory Takedown of Tweets in India

Rightsblog: Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill

Verfassungsblog: In Search for an Antidote

Spiked: Hate-speech laws are no friend of minorities

Foreign Policy: Coronavirus Has Started a Censorship Pandemic