If you think free speech is under attack in the United Statesand it isyou should see its besieged status in the rest of the world. Open contempt for unrestricted debate prevails in even many supposedly "free" countries and finds its expression in laws that threaten harsh penalties for those who dare to speak in ways that offend the powers that be.
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"When other communications revolutions like the printing press, radio, and television came along, they were still largely controlled by the elites. But when the internet came along, regulatory bodies like Canada's [Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission] backed off," Lawrence Martin of Canada's The Globe and Mail recently complained while celebrating what he saw as rare U.S. Supreme Court openness to letting government pressure social media companies into suppressing speech. "It was open season for anything that anyone wanted to put out. No license needed. No identity verification."
"The way to reverse the trend is with rigid regulation, but the free speech lobby in the United States is as fierce as the gun lobby," Martin mourned.
Too bad for Martin. But few countries share America's resistance to censorship (and restrictions on self-defense). That's certainly the case in Canada, where the ruling Liberal Party is pushing Bill C-63, the Online Harms Act, to regulate speech on the internet.
"Bill C-63 risks censoring a range of expression from journalistic reporting to healthy conversations among youth under 18 about their own sexuality and relationships," warns the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. "The bill imposes draconian penalties for certain types of expression, including life imprisonment for a very broad and vaguely defined offence of 'incitement to genocide', and 5 years of jail time for other broadly defined speech acts."
Ireland is going a step further, with lawmakers working on legislation that would outlaw merely "preparing or possessing material likely to incite violence or hatred against persons on account of their protected characteristics."
"One of the fundamental rights protected under the Irish Constitution is the right of the citizens to express freely their convictions and opinions," barrister (lawyer) Grace Sullivan told the Irish Independent. But under the proposed law, it will be an offence to "incite hatred" but "there is no clear definition of what 'inciting hatred' means," she cautioned.
Scotland, for its part, has already enacted a "hate crime" law targeting speech that authorities believe might "stir up hatred against a group of persons based on the group being defined by reference to" a laundry list of characteristics including race, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, and age.
"The Hate Crime Bill will come into force on April 1, expanding existing legislation to cover comments made in private settings without the intention to offend," Laura Pollock reported last week for The National. She noted police assurances that comedians and actors won't be targeted for their performances, even though such situations were included in training materials.
"The training material was based on the Scottish Government's explanatory notes which accompany the legislation," Police Scotland soothed. "This included examples of a range of scenarios where offences might take place, but this does not mean officers have been told to target these situations or locations."
Unfortunately, restrictive legislation and hollow assurances by the authorities that they'll use their authoritarian powers wisely are far more the global norm than are American-style protections for speech. We complain about government attempts to muzzle, but open censorship is increasingly common in other countries.
"The global landscape for freedom of expression has faced severe challenges in 2023," according to The Free Speech Recession Hits Home, a report by The Future of Free Speech, Danish think tank Justitia, and Aarhus University's Department of Political Science.* "Even open democracies have implemented restrictive measures."
The report surveys speech regulations in 22 democracies since 2015 and finds a grim situation. Besides the examples above, there is Australia's crackdown on alleged disinformation, the UK's Online Safety Bill, the European Union's Digital Services Act, Denmark's revived blasphemy ban, Italy's libel judgments against government critics, France's and Germany's restrictions on pro-Palestinian protests, and more.
Across the countries surveyed, "except for 2015, every year witnessed a majority of developments limiting expression, with a noticeable upsurge in 2022," notes the report. "National security, national cohesion and public safety were the most cited reasons for limiting expression. Intermediary obligations and hate speech laws accounted for 18.3% and 17.8% of restrictions, respectively, with notable implications in countries like Norway, Denmark, and Spain." As defined in the report, "intermediary obligations" are duties imposed on platforms, such as Facebook, to act as proxy censors.
On the plus side were some strengthened protections for press freedom and protest. Of course, the press must operate under all those restrictions on "hate speech," and protests are subject to curbs when governments find their subjects too sensitive or just inconvenient.
The Free Speech Recession Hits Home records attacks on free speech in the U.S., as elsewhere. But this country, importantly, has a strong free speech culture and real constitutional protections. America is third on Justitia's index of public support for free speech (after Norway and Denmark), and restrictive laws and government schemes to suppress speech are often voided on First Amendment grounds.
That's no guarantee that every attempt to muzzle the public will fail or that the courts will diligently apply the First Amendment. But it's enough of an advantage to dishearten the world's would-be censors.
"The genie is already out of the bottle and there is little likelihood of getting it back in," moans The Globe and Mail's Lawrence Martin about U.S. speech protections. "The greater likelihood is that extremes of free speech will continue to be tolerated."
Let's hope the unhappy authoritarian columnist is right that the U.S. will remain a bastion of protection for free speech. Because nobody else looks eager to take on that responsibility.
*CORRECTION: The Future of Free Speech, which commissioned the report, is an independent think tank located at Vanderbilt University.
See more here:
Free Speech Is Under Attack in the U.S., but It's on the Ropes Elsewhere - Reason
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- USC canceled its valedictorian speech: What the university got wrong. - Slate - April 22nd, 2024 [April 22nd, 2024]
- A free speech fiasco united the far-right here's why they remain divided - POLITICO Europe - April 22nd, 2024 [April 22nd, 2024]
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- Newly reinstated Texas Tech professor continues to advocate for free speech - KLBK | KAMC | EverythingLubbock.com - April 22nd, 2024 [April 22nd, 2024]
- Coin Center says Senate-presented stablecoin bill poses risks to innovation and free speech - crypto.news - April 22nd, 2024 [April 22nd, 2024]
- TikTok creators worry about free speech and income streams if ban succeeds: 'My livelihood is at stake' - CNBC - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- As Texas students clash over Israel-Hamas war, Gov. Greg Abbott orders colleges to revise free speech policies - The Texas Tribune - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
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- VCU one of the top campuses in the country for free speech, advocacy group says - Axios - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Free speech hangs in the balance in 3 Supreme Court cases - The Hill - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
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- In crowded week for free speech, justices hear 3 First Amendment cases - Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Abbott Issues Guidance To Texas Colleges And Universities About Free Speech And Anti-Semitism - EastTexasRadio.com - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Gov. Abbott orders Texas universities to revise free speech policies to combat antisemitism - The UTD Mercury - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- The Liberty Justice Center Urges the U.S. Supreme Court to Uphold Protections for Free Speech in Donor Disclosure ... - Liberty Justice Center - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- GOP pushes anti-free speech bills to fight antisemitism - UnHerd - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- PEN Union Cries Foul in Contract Talks as Criticism of PEN America Intensifies - Publishers Weekly - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- CAIR-Texas Condemns Gov. Abbott's Anti-Palestinian Executive Order as Attack on Free Speech (Video) - - Council on American-Islamic Relations - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Dissent: When It Comes To Free Speech, the Editorial Board Is All Talk. | Opinion - Harvard Crimson - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Gov. Abbott calls for universities to update free speech policies, discipline violators to address antisemitism on campuses - The Daily Texan - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- The Times Ed Board picks a confusing fight against the Emerald City Ride, free speech - Seattle Bike Blog - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Trump's Free Speech Defense on Trial in Georgia Election Interference Case - Hoodline - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Convicting Julian Assange Would Mean the End of Free Speech - The American Conservative - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Column: Banning TikTok is a blow to free speech - Redmond Spokesman - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Free Speech Is Under Such Threat In Canada It Would Make Orwell Blush - Forbes - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- More on Coercion, Social Media, and Freedom of Speech: Rejoinder to Philip Hamburger - Reason - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- OfS free speech guidance: time will tell if it builds understanding - The PIE News - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- Kevin Rennie: Jaw-dropping attack on free speech and assembly in a CT town. It hurts us all. - Hartford Courant - March 2nd, 2024 [March 2nd, 2024]
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- Bentley Hosts Forum on Free Speech on College Campuses with Legal Expert Harvey Silverglate - Bentley University - March 2nd, 2024 [March 2nd, 2024]
- POLL: 69% of Americans believe country on wrong track on free speech - Foundation for Individual Rights in Education - March 2nd, 2024 [March 2nd, 2024]
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- Free Speech and Common Carriage: Unpacking the Supreme Court's Examination of the Texas and Florida Social ... - Public Knowledge - March 2nd, 2024 [March 2nd, 2024]
- So to Speak: The Free Speech Podcast | Free speech news: NetChoice, Taylor Swift, October 7, and Satan - Foundation for Individual Rights in Education - March 2nd, 2024 [March 2nd, 2024]
- Supreme Court to Decide How the First Amendment Applies to Social Media - The New York Times - March 2nd, 2024 [March 2nd, 2024]
- U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on Texas social media law - The Texas Tribune - March 2nd, 2024 [March 2nd, 2024]
- Bill aimed at protecting free speech rights advancing in SC House - News From The States - March 2nd, 2024 [March 2nd, 2024]
- Champion of Free Speech and Journalism Margaret Talev Leads Institute for Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship ... - Syracuse University News - March 2nd, 2024 [March 2nd, 2024]
- Kinsey student says IU administrator infringed on free speech rights at demonstration - Indiana Daily Student - March 2nd, 2024 [March 2nd, 2024]
- CBS News boss who signed off on firing Catherine Herridge to get free speech award - New York Post - March 2nd, 2024 [March 2nd, 2024]
- U.S. Supreme Court to hear Texas and Florida cases about free speech and social media platforms - Texas Standard - March 2nd, 2024 [March 2nd, 2024]
- Should Honking Your Horn Be Considered Free Speech? - The Autopian - March 2nd, 2024 [March 2nd, 2024]
- Event: Free speech implications of the ICJ South Africa v. Israel case - ARTICLE 19 - Article 19 - March 2nd, 2024 [March 2nd, 2024]
- Takeaways From the Supreme Court Arguments on Social Media Laws - The New York Times - March 2nd, 2024 [March 2nd, 2024]
- Free Speech Unmuted: Book Bansor Are They? - Reason - March 2nd, 2024 [March 2nd, 2024]
- Florida anti-free speech bill targets 'liberal media' but guess who's really mad at it? - KeysNews.com - March 2nd, 2024 [March 2nd, 2024]
- Supreme Court arguments over social media laws and free speech are defining social media itself - Quartz - March 2nd, 2024 [March 2nd, 2024]
- Canadian measure would remove free speech protection for quoting Bible, sacred texts - Washington Times - March 2nd, 2024 [March 2nd, 2024]
- Suffield scraps plan to restrict the use of the town green following pushback from free speech advocates - FOX61 Hartford - March 2nd, 2024 [March 2nd, 2024]
- FIRST PERSON: Free speech fails for Zionists at UC Berkeley - The Jewish News of Northern California - March 2nd, 2024 [March 2nd, 2024]
- Menard Center and pre-law club host discussion regarding AI and Free Speech - UWEC Spectator - March 2nd, 2024 [March 2nd, 2024]
- Supreme Court arguments over future of social media and free speech - WFXRtv.com - March 2nd, 2024 [March 2nd, 2024]
- Judge skeptical of lawsuit brought by Elon Musk's X over hate speech research - NPR - March 2nd, 2024 [March 2nd, 2024]
- Israeli philosopher Yoram Hazony lectures on free speech, antisemitism while students hold vigil - Observer Online - March 2nd, 2024 [March 2nd, 2024]
- Big Tech fights Texas and Florida at SCOTUS, and Brett Kavanaugh might be the one saving the internet as we know it. - Slate - March 2nd, 2024 [March 2nd, 2024]
- Biden Is Trying to Balance Gaza Protests and Free Speech Rights as Demonstrators Disrupt His Events - U.S. News & World Report - January 29th, 2024 [January 29th, 2024]
- British Universities Are Repressing Free Speech on Palestine - Jacobin magazine - January 29th, 2024 [January 29th, 2024]
- The Future of Academic Freedom - The New Yorker - January 29th, 2024 [January 29th, 2024]
- "College Is All About Curiosity. And That Requires Free Speech." - Reason - January 29th, 2024 [January 29th, 2024]
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- College Is All About Curiosity. And That Requires Free Speech. - The New York Times - January 29th, 2024 [January 29th, 2024]
- Letters: Money is not free speech and a corporation is not a person - Akron Beacon Journal - January 29th, 2024 [January 29th, 2024]