Daily Archives: July 1, 2017

The American concept of free speech was built into the Bill of Rights in 1789 and forged into laws over the past 100 years to become a global icon of freedom.

AFTER a century of building free-speech rights into our laws and culture, Americans are backing away from one of the countrys defining principles.

Set off by the nations increasingly short fuse, students, politicians, teachers and parents are not just refusing to hear each other out, were coming up with all sorts of ways of blocking ideas we dont agree with.

In high schools across the country, teachers say they stay away from hot topics such as immigration and health care because so many parents complain when their kids encounter emotional issues in class.

At colleges from Berkeley to Middlebury, a year of protests, many aimed at blocking controversial speakers, led to congressional hearings last week that could end up in sanctions against some of the schools.

On the internet, scores of anonymous posters are drumming targets into silence. In one case, actress Leslie Jones temporarily fled Twitter, feeling like she was in a personal hell from an onslaught of hacks and hateful posts. In another, a congressional candidate in Iowa quit the race in early June after receiving calls and emails that included death threats.

The American concept of free speech was built into the Bill of Rights in 1789 and forged into laws over the past 100 years to become a global icon of freedom. Those who study history and the Constitution worry that in the past year, weve done real damage to a notion at the heart of democracy.

I do think the First Amendment tradition is under siege, said Jeffrey Rosen, president of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. Pamela Geller, a firebrand commentator and founder of the American Freedom Defense Initiative, added, Freedom of speech has never before been so poorly regarded by such large numbers of Americans.

Where will this country be if its speech tradition falters? We can already see an awkward dynamic taking shape. In social settings, when we come face to face, were hesitant to say what we think, while online in mostly anonymous exchanges all manner of spite and bitterness pours forth.

This raises a question worth thinking about as we celebrate Americas birthday this week: What are the chances of resolving the countrys differences if we no longer talk or listen to one another?

We cant lose sight of the fact that the ability to speak our minds is one of the fundamental freedoms in self government, said Gene Policinski, chief operating officer of the Newseum Institute in Washington, D.C.

A mix of developments, incidents and trends put us on this path.

At many colleges and universities, students say they shouldnt have to put up with views they find offensive, racially insensitive or wrongheaded. The thinking arose over time, and then gained momentum with the Black Lives Matter movement and the stormy politics of the year.

The sometimes-violent protests have drawn lots of reaction, condemnations and solutions but not much consensus.

I find this really hard, said Edward Wasserman, dean of the graduate journalism school at Berkeley, where protests earlier this year blocked conservatives Ann Coulter and Milo Yiannopoulos from speaking. But I dont think the world is a worse place because Ann Coulter doesnt get to say something shes already said a thousand times.

Others see a fundamental failing at work.

Its hard not to conclude that too many of our students havent had a civics course in junior high school, said Floyd Abrams, the pre-eminent First Amendment lawyer who handled cases from the Pentagon Papers to Citizens United and just published a new book, The Soul of the First Amendment.

If the high-school curriculum is part of the problem, that may be because teachers are hesitant about their roles. David Bobb, head of the Bill of Rights Institute, funded by industrialist Charles Koch to provide training to schools, said he hears regularly from teachers who avoid topics for fear of backlash.

They have to wonder, If I get into this controversial topic, am I going to be backed up by my department chair, or the principal? he said. Or are the parents going to come after me and say its not your place to talk about this?

The internet is helping fuel whats happening by creating a mob mentality and adding enormous speed and reach to what people say. Its become so much more chaotic, said Lee Rainie, who directs Pew Research work on technology, science and the internet.

Almost every conversation on the state of free speech ends up on the question of what can be done.

Embarrassed by whats happened, universities are writing new student codes and rules of engagement for visiting lecturers. Were working hard to get our act together, said Wisconsin political science professor Donald Downs, who has led a push for civility.

Organizations such as the Constitution Center and the Bill of Rights Institute see solutions in education programs and better curriculum for schools. In 18 states, legislatures think the problem rests in the unruly protests and are preparing laws that would limit mass gatherings.

Still, more than a dozen observers from every perspective interviewed for this piece said we should expect more rocky times ahead.

They cite a political climate with a historic level of rancor, a president whos been mostly on the attack since his inauguration and a media thats embraced the conflict with a fervor that has brought record viewership and readership.

When people quit listening to each other, theres that lack of discussion and a lack of understanding, said Bradley A. Smith, the former chairman of the Federal Election Commission and professor at Capital University Law School in Columbus, Ohio. Thats when theres a growing tendency to think the other side shouldnt be able to say what they think.

If America becomes torn against itself, I think free speech sort of goes out with it, said Downs, the Wisconsin professor.

Sometimes Im genuinely anguished over the kind of society were going to have if this keeps going, said Christina Hoff Sommers, an author and resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington, D.C. Its easy to take it for granted and not recognize that were jeopardizing these freedoms.

Summing up: Its worth remembering that free-speech rights were built over decades of conflict. Theyve been tested in every generation, through wartime, civil rights, the rise of new technologies and the threat of terrorism, and have been solidly supported by U.S. Supreme Court rulings.

Todays conflicts are the most complicated yet and show no sign of easing. But as more than one scholar has pointed out, free speech is the starting place for all our other rights. We shouldnt lose sight of whats at stake: Without the free flow of ideas, the American experiment cannot succeed.

Link:
Do we still believe in free speech? Only until we disagree - Seattle Times

Yeah, yeah, before you rush to the comments and start justifying this by saying that Europe doesn't respect free expression in the same way the US does, let's just say while that may be true, this is still bad: Germany has moved forward with a plan to fine internet companies which don't quickly censor the internet. Censor what, though? Three loosely defined (and easily abused) categories: hate speech, criminal material and fake news.

Social media companies face fines of up to 50m (43m) if they persistently fail to remove illegal content from their sites under a new law passed in Germany

The German parliament on Friday approved the bill aimed at cracking down on hate speech, criminal material and fake news on social networks but critics warn it could have drastic consequences for free speech online.

And, yes, again Europe has very different standards for free expression -- and Germany, in particular, has a long history of trying to suppress what it considers "bad" speech regarding some of its historical actions (Godwin'd!). Even so, this is dangerous and will be abused to stifle all sorts of important expression:

The German justice minister, Heiko Maas, who was the driving force behind the bill, said: Freedom of speech ends where the criminal law begins. Maas said official figures showed the number of hate crimes in Germany increased by more than 300% in the last two years.

Even accepting that free speech ends where criminal law begins, that doesn't justify fining the platforms. If people are posting "illegal" content, go after them for breaking the law. Don't go after the tools they use. By putting massive liability risks on platforms, those platforms will almost certainly overcompensate and over censor to avoid any risk of liability. That means a tremendous amount of what should be protected speech gets silence, just because these companies don't want to get fined. Even worse, the big platforms can maybe hire people to handle this. The littler platforms? They basically can't risk operating in Germany any more. Berlin is a hotbed of startups, but this is going to seriously harm many of them.

The new law also has an even weirder provision, putting liability not just on the platforms, but on individual employees at online platforms who are designated the Chief Censors for that platform:

Aside from the hefty fine for companies, the law also provides for fines of up to 5m for the person each company designates to deal with the complaints procedure if it doesnt meet requirements.

Who the hell is going to want that job? Make one mistake in failing to censor something, and you may be bankrupted.

Just a little while ago we wrote about how difficult it can be for a platform to be calling the shots on what's worth censoring and what's not. Since there's so much content, the analysis of each piece of content needs to be standardized in a manner that tends to be absurd. It appears that those supporting this law don't have any interest in the realities involved, but think that by passing this legislation, they've waved a magic wand. Yes, putting liability onto platforms (and employees) will likely lead to greater suppression of speech people dislike -- but also of important and necessary speech. There appears to have been no effort to consider how dangerous that might turn out to be.

Read the original:
Germany Officially Gives Up On Free Speech: Will Fine Internet Companies That Don't Delete 'Bad' Speech - Techdirt