The roots of free speech are ancient, deep, and sprawling. The Athenian statesman Pericles extolled the democratic values of open debate and tolerance of social dissent in 431 BC. In the ninth century, the irreverent freethinker Ibn al-Rawandi used the fertile intellectual climate of the Abbasid caliphate to question prophecy and holy books. In 1582, […]
A new EU plan targeting extremists ignores history’s lessons about the danger of restricting unpopular views. Shortly before Christmas, the European Commission—the EU’s executive arm—announced a plan with dangerous implications for free speech in Europe. Citing a “tsunami of hate and xenophobia” targeting ethnic and religious minorities, LGBT+ people, the disabled and women, the commission […]
Repression leads to liberalisation and vice versa, says Jacob Mchangama Free Speech. By Jacob Mchangama. Basic Books; 528 pages; $32 and £25 Aglobal firestorm erupted in 2005 after the publication in a Danish newspaper of 12 provocative cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. Jacob Mchangama, a Dane and then a young lawyer, was dismayed. In the Muslim world he […]
In 1922, the USSR established the General Directorate for the Protection of State Secrets in the Press (known as Glavlit) to weed out “propaganda against the Soviet Union” that “stirred up public opinion through false information”. The mission of Glavlit reflected Lenin’s view that the press was “no less dangerous than bombs and machine-guns” and that its […]
Executive director Jacob Mchangama in interview on free speech and his upcoming book “Free Speech: A History from Socrates to Social Media” The interview is fully transcripted here:
The United Kingdom moved a step closer to regulating social media in December when a parliamentary committee recommended major changes to the country’s Online Safety Bill so as to hold internet service providers responsible for material published on their platforms. “We need to call time on the Wild West online,” said committee chair Damian Collins. “What’s illegal […]
Liberal democracies are passing online speech laws. They’re inspiring autocrats. Nothing more sharply differentiates liberal democracies from authoritarian regimes than the former’s commitment to freedom of expression. Despite controlling vast bureaucracies with near-infinite resources and overwhelming coercive powers, democratic governments generally accept that their actions are scrutinized, criticized, and ridiculed by the media, opposition, and ordinary citizens. […]
A comprehensive history of free speech from ancient to modern times. In this well-researched and highly readable book, Copenhagen-based writer Mchangama, host of the podcast series Clear and Present Danger: A History of Free Speech, traces the history of free speech around the world, examining the views of both its advocates and its suppressors. The author […]
This short piece has been inspired by the case of Sanchez v France which was decided by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) this year and which I argue, hereinafter, is yet another worrying development in the framework of freedom of expression. This case involved the criminal conviction of the applicant for inciting hatred […]
A new report by the Danish think tank Justitia calls for embedding content moderation in an international human rights framework to ensure common international standards. Yet, critics warn that this voluntary approach is too weak to tackle the ‘Infodemic’. In the report, Justitia says the legislative measures taken in Germany, Denmark or Austria to counter hate […]