By Raghav Mendiratta and Natalie Alkiviadou On March 1, 2022, Regulation 2022/350 of the Council of the European Union (EU) suspended broadcasting activities of Russia Today (RT) and Sputnik in the EU until Russia ends the aggression against Ukraine and its media “cease to conduct propaganda actions” against the EU and its Member States. The Regulation (as well as the […]
The health of free speech depends more on a culture of free speech than on laws. By Jacob Mchangama and Jonathan Rauch. Is free speech under threat? What do we even mean when we talk about free speech? Jacob Mchangama, a Danish lawyer and human rights advocate, tackles those questions in his new book, Free Speech: A History from […]
Jacob Mchangama is human rights lawyer in Denmark. He is the founder and executive director of Justitia, a think tank which aims to promote the rule of law and fundamental human rights and freedom rights both within Denmark and abroad by educating and influencing policy experts, decision-makers, and the public. From 2018-2020, Jacob hosted a podcast, […]
The shooting in Buffalo last month was but the latest example of terrorist attacks becoming a lethal outlet for white supremacist grievances. What connects much of this violent right-wing extremism is that the perpetrators are radicalized or share their ideas—sometimes even stream their terrorist attacks—online. In fact, several terrorists have explicitly cited other terrorists as inspiration for their deadly deeds in […]
Freedom of speech is hailed as the ‘first freedom’, the bedrock of democracy, but it is subject to erosion in times of upheaval. The British Library holds the earliest plea for free speech, Milton’s Areopagitica, which argues against censorship and in favour of ‘freedom to choose, for reason is but choosing’. But according to Freedom […]
Justitia CEO Jacob Mchangama discusses the threat to free speech around the world on PBS The Open Mind. Watch the interview on PBS landingpage.
Banning political symbols sets a dangerous precedent Having experienced the warmth and openness of Victorians, the idea of the Garden State as a stomping ground for neo-Nazi efforts to establish a Fourth Reich Down Under seems bizarre. Yet, Victoria is set to enact a law banning the public display of Nazi swastikas ‘to stamp out […]
Will Tesla’s founder and EU new laws change social media forever? Jacob Mchangama, Ethan Zuckerman and Jennifer Petersen weigh in Free speech: are platforms different? Protected by law (albeit differently) both in the EU and in the US, freedom of speech, and the extent to which this fundamental right applies to what we post online, is one of […]
The rules Breton was referring to are embedded in a recently-agreed EU law called the Digital Services Act (DSA), which Breton, the internal market commissioner, helped design. Soon, the law will govern how Twitter must remove content from its platform—and if the U.S. firm doesn’t play ball, Breton warned, it could face mega-fines and perhaps […]
Der Publizist Jacob Mchangama findet es richtig, dass auf Twitter bald wieder alles gesagt werden darf. Dass Elon Musk die einflussreiche Plattform aber im Alleingang übernommen hat, hält er für gefährlich. Read the full piece