Category:Free Speech

February 18, 2022 | Post

Is free expression only an instrumental good, i.e., good because it results in good consequences? Or is it intrinsically good, in and of itself? The answer is both.

December 3, 2021 | Post

E.M. Forster once said, “How do I know what I think until I see what I say?” He was observing that, in our brains, thoughts often bounce and jump around frenetically; for many of us, we have to verbalize — or write down — our thoughts before they gain clarity. So, in a sense, the […]

November 24, 2021 | Post

Over the past 4 Thursdays, we’ve highlighted some of the most original and prolific writers in the history of economic and political thought. Ayn Rand, Frederic Bastiat, Thomas Sowell, and Lysander Spooner inspired us all and helped lay the foundation for the modern liberty movement. But today is not an ordinary Thursday. In the United […]

November 18, 2021 | Video

There’s a reason the very first amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects freedom of speech (and there’s a reason it’s the first right authoritarian governments try to restrict). In many ways, free speech enables all other aspects and rights of a free society.

In Session 8 of our Law 201 series, Robert Corn-Revere, Partner at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP in Washington, D.C., walks us through the basics of first amendment law in the U.S. and similar free speech protection in Europe.

July 29, 2021 | Post

Recently, Cuba has seen an unprecedented wave of protests against the ruling communist regime. Could freedom be on the horizon for Cuba?

July 15, 2021 | Post

Self-identified libertarians have a variety of core principles, and different stressors can push some towards more nefarious ideologies, like the far-right

May 13, 2021 | Post

Liz Cheney maintaining her position with the GOP was contingent on an unspoken agreement that she’d stop publicly disagreeing with Donald Trump over the validity of the 2020 election. Cheney did not do this. Instead, in her defiance, she has highlighted exactly why those who love and seek to protect freedom of speech shouldn’t count on the GOP or the right to maintain it.

April 28, 2021 | Video

As a user of the internet, you most likely use one or more internet platforms to read the news, share status updates, or connect with your friends and acquaintances. But what made it possible in the first place?

A small part of the Communications Decency Act, called Section 230, is a short clause that enables free speech on the internet today.

Section 230 says, “No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.” It means that online outlets can host many kinds of content, and they would not be the legal owner of the content.

This sentence allowed big tech organizations like Wikipedia, Twitter, Facebook, and many more to exist. However, Section 230 also creates an opportunity for people from all walks of life to join the conversation on the net and start movements, build businesses, and exchange opinions.

Nevertheless, members of the right and the left have joined the call to repeal Section 230.

In this video, you will learn how Section 230 enables free speech, and why there is a movement against it. We spoke with Jennifer Huddleston, Director of Technology and Innovation Policy at the American Action Forum, who is a specialist in the topic. Special thanks to Ashkhen Kazaryan.

February 8, 2018 | Video

Video Description: Social critic Wendy Kaminer agrees that political correctness has become a real problem, but also asks: to what degree are complaints about “PC” and being “self-censored” a cover for individual timidity?   Excerpted from Spiked Magazine’s ‘Unsafe Space Tour’ panel discussion at Harvard University.

January 22, 2018 | Video

When someone tries to disrupt a public speaker, are they making an assault on freedom of speech, or just utilizing their own freedom of speech? Prof. Angus Johnston and journalist Brendan O’Neill share their thoughts. Excerpted from Spiked Magazine’s ‘Unsafe Space Tour’ panel discussion at New York Law School.

January 2, 2018 | Video

Harvard psychology professor Steven Pinker argues that political correctness actually breeds the very same extremist views it hopes to quash. Excerpted from Spiked Magazine’s ‘Unsafe Space Tour’ panel discussion at Harvard University.

December 18, 2017 | Video

And are “Millennial snowflakes” really to blame? Steven Pinker, Robby Soave, Wendy Kaminer, and Brendan O’Neill discuss the past and present of campus speech codes. Excerpted from the Spiked Magazine ‘Unsafe Space Tour’ panel discussion at Harvard University. Moderated by Tom Slater (of Spiked Magazine.)

December 11, 2017 | Video

Is political correctness why Trump won? Watch the Unsafe Space Tour panel discussion at Harvard University, featuring Steven Pinker, Wendy Kaminer, Robby Soave and Brendan O’Neill. Moderated by Tom Slater (of Spiked Magazine).

December 7, 2017 | Video

“Title IX” was never intended to regulate romantic relationships on campus. So how did we get here? Robert Shibley, Executive Director of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, explains.

December 4, 2017 | Video

Do “Title IX” rules on campus protect women or restrict them? Watch the Unsafe Space Tour panel discussion with Tom Slater and Ella Whelan of Spiked Magazine, Robert Shibley of FIRE, and Elizabeth Nolan Brown of Reason. Special thanks to Reason for helping us relocate the panel discussion on very short notice.

November 30, 2017 | Video

Professors Laura Kipnis, Angus Johnston, and author Brendan O’Neill debate: Should We Limit Free Speech for Nazis? Excerpted from the Spiked Magazine Unsafe Space Tour panel discussion at New York Law School. Moderated by Tom Slater (of Spiked Magazine).

November 27, 2017 | Video

Is “the Left” eating itself? Watch the Unsafe Space Tour panel discussion at New York Law School, featuring Professors Bret Weinstein, Laura Kipnis, Angus Johnston, and author Brendan O’Neill. Moderated by Tom Slater (of Spiked Magazine).

November 20, 2017 | Video

A lot of people don’t really understand their ideological opponents. Here’s how to test whether you are the exception.

October 19, 2017 | Video

Professor Mark Lilla of Columbia University makes the case that when people become too wrapped up in identity politics, they can lose sight of how to affect the change they want to see in society.

October 13, 2017 | Video

Does Identity politics cut us off from important conversations on issues that affect us all? Watch the Unsafe Space Tour panel discussion at Rutgers University featuring Kmele Foster, Sarah Haider, Bryan Stascavage, and Mark Lilla. Moderated by Tom Slater (of Spiked Magazine).

September 25, 2017 | Video

We all use heuristics to make everyday decisions — but sometimes they blind us to the truth. So we need to do something that doesn’t come easy: accept that our ideas might be wrong.

September 18, 2017 | Video

Ever felt like you disagree with everyone around you, but don’t dare to speak up? These famous experiments by Solomon Asch and Richard Crutchfield show you may not be as alone as you think.

August 22, 2017 | Post

Shaming may be successful at shutting people up. But changing their minds? That’s a different task entirely.

August 14, 2017 | Video

Prof. Mike Munger  supports safe spaces on campus — but no one should be “safe” from hearing ideas they disagree with across the whole school.