Tuesday, June 28, 2016
#FreeSpeech in the News: Week of June 28, 2016
As the Citadel of Free Speech here in Cleveland, we work to protect and promote the basis of our democracy by sharing related stories, commentary, and opinions on free speech in the 21st century. Here's what's making the news - and what you should know about - this week.
Brexit is the first issue on everyone’s minds this week, and Heatstreet details how, with respect to one law, the “Right to be Forgotten,” it could be a very good thing for global free speech.
“The looming departure of the UK from the [European] bloc means that there is little incentive for the tech companies to spend time and money enforcing an arduous extra standard on 65 million people.
The UK’s existing, robust laws protecting against hate crime will remain in force, leaving most users to post unharried by self-appointed speech enforcers, and unable to wipe away and inconvenient truths.”
Indian author Gautam Bhatia has wrote a book on free speech under the Indian Constitution earlier this year called Offend, Shock, or Disturb. The Hindustan Time’s recent review highlights that the books cogent points on free speech extend far beyond the Indian government, making it a worthwhile read for those that think free speech is worthwhile.
“The author’s analysis of free speech cases relies heavily on the idea of morality as defined by the law to mean constitutional morality.”
Inverse reports that Facebook and Youtube are being pressured by the Obama administration to fight online extremism on their sites. As a result of this pressue, the tech companies have begun to quietly implement a system that automatically stems the spread of extremist views without completely eliminating them.
“Whether it’s humans or robots making the decision, the tech companies are drawing a line in the sand as to what is free and open speech and what is ‘extremist speech,’ which is concerning to any advocates of free speech.”
And last, but certainly not least, Charles Lipson proposes five steps to protect free speech on our college campuses in RealClear Politics this week.
