In my book, The Indispensable Right, I discuss how free speech is in a free fall in Great Britain, where officials continue to crack down on an ever-widening array of viewpoints. Some of these actions are designated as “non-crime hate” but are still the subject of law enforcement actions. According to the Daily Mail, they now include children who have been pulled in for calling other children schoolyard names like “retard” or saying that other children smell “like fish.” Continue reading “Great Britain Cracks Down on “Non-Crime Hate” Speech, Including Playground Taunts”
Category: International
We previously discussed the defamation lawsuit against Deadspin and writer Carron Phillips over an article claiming that nine-year-old Holden Armenta appeared at a Chiefs game in 2023 in black face. I noted in a prior column that I believed that the court would view this as a matter that had to go to a jury. It now has. Superior Court Judge Sean Lugg this week rejected Deadspin’s motion to dismiss.
Continue reading “Deadspin Loses Major Motion in Defamation Case Over Blackface Column”
Below is my column in the New York Post on the recent remarks of former Secretary of State John Kerry to the World Economic Forum, the latest in an array of powerful American politicians warning about the dangers of free speech and calling for government controls. He joins his fellow former Democratic Presidential Nominee Hillary Clinton in reaching out to the global elite for help in censoring their fellow Americans.
Here is the column: Continue reading ““Curbing” Free Speech: John Kerry Criticizes the First Amendment as “a Major Block” for Censorship”
International Judo Federation (IJF) has suspended a Serbian judo champion for five months from any international competitions for making the sign of the cross after his match in the Paris Olympic games this year. It is another bizarre controversy from the games, including France barring French Muslim athletes from wearing hijabs in competition. Continue reading “Fall from Grace: Olympian Suspended for Making Sign of the Cross”
We have previously discussed Thierry Breton, the European Union commissioner who has been an unabashed leader of the anti-free speech movement in Europe. Breton has threatened Elon Musk and others over the lack of censorship, including allowing candidates like former president Donald Trump to speak freely on his platform. For free speech advocates, Breton’s sudden and unexpected demise was reminiscent of the scene in the Wizard of Oz. Despite pledging to get Musk and his little platform too, Breton seemed to melt away faster than Margaret Hamilton after being hit with a bucket of water.
Continue reading “Bretxit: Notorious EU Anti-Free Speech Figure Thierry Breton Resigns in a Huff”
We have previously discussed how Australia has eagerly joined the plunge into censorship and speech controls, including a court system that has repeatedly refused to protect free speech. It is now on the verge of enacting a new censorship bill that replicates the abuses under the European Union’s draconian Digital Service Act (DSA). Continue reading “Australia Moves Toward Draconian Anti-Free Speech Law”
Alissa Eleanor Azar, a well-known Antifa activist, was sentenced to jail recently in Oregon after being convicted of felony riot and disorderly conduct. What is notable about the case was the journalism defense put forward by Azar, who claims that she was not a participant but press. That assertion is belied by not just videotapes of Azar assaulting members of the far-right group The Proud Boys but her long record of violence. Continue reading “Well-Known Antifa Member Sentenced to Jail Despite Journalism Defense”
Silicon Valley investor Roger McNamee this weekend went on MSNBC’s “Last Word” and called for the arrest of Elon Musk for “undermining” the federal government by sharing his opinions on X. Continue reading “Get Musk: Leading Investor Calls for the Prosecution of Elon Musk for “Undermining” the Federal Government”
In the 1999 cult classic The Blair Witch Project, one character tells his friends “I could help you, but I’d rather stand here and record.” For free speech advocates, we often feel that other citizens have become passive observers as an anti-free speech movement grows around us, threatening our “indispensable right.”
One of the most infamous figures in this movement has been former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who has long been the smiling face of censorship. As the head of the Labour Party, Blair pushed through some of the early crackdowns on free speech in the United Kingdom. He is now calling for global censorship to expand these efforts. Continue reading “The Blair Witch Project: Former Prime Minister Calls for Global Censorship”
We have previously discussed the anti-free speech views of Clinton’s former Labor Secretary, Robert Reich, who has tried to sell citizens on the perfectly Orwellian view that more freedom means tyranny when it comes to the freedom of expression. He also demanded that former president Donald Trump be banned from ballots as a “traitor” — all in the name of protecting democracy from itself. Last week, Reich wrote a column declaring Elon Musk “out of control” in his refusal to censor citizens and appeared to call for his arrest.
Continue reading “Robert Reich Calls for the Arrest of Elon Musk for Resisting Censorship”
Elon Musk put it simply: “#FreePavel.” For many, a hashtag of one billionaire calling for the release of another billionaire is hardly a compelling cause. Telegram CEO Pavel Durov, 39, is neither a familiar nor sympathetic figure for most Americans. However, for free speech advocates, Durov’s arrest is a chilling escalation of global censors in using European laws to control speech on the Internet. Continue reading ““#FreePavel”: Telegram CEO Becomes Latest Target of European Censors”
We have previously discussed the cancel campaigns targeting JK Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series. Rowling was not only the greatest selling author of all time but a wildly popular writer until she publicly opposed certain transgender policies as inimical to the advances in feminism. Now, she is the target of a lawsuit by Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, the gold-medal winning athlete who had previously failed a gender test to confirm that she is a female fighter. We previously discussed that global debate, but Khelif is now accusing Rowling out of many thousands of critics of being a cyberbully. X owner Elon Musk has also been named in the lawsuit.
Continue reading “Rowling Reportedly Sued by Olympic Boxer Over Gender Criticism”
The crackdown on free speech continues in the United Kingdom as officials use recent rioting to justify a roundup of citizens who they view as “pushing harmful and hateful beliefs.” The government is ramping up arrests of those with “extremist ideologies” in the latest wave of arrests. The crackdown includes those accused of misogynist views.In my book, “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage,” I discuss how difficult it is to get a free people to give up freedoms. They have to be afraid, very afraid. For that reason, governments tend to attack free speech during periods of public anger or fear. Continue reading ““It’s Not OK Any More”: The United Kingdom Cracks Down on Free Speech” Three years ago, we discussed the conviction of a British man for “toxic ideologies,” under the draconian laws criminalizing inciteful or dangerous speech. The erosion of free speech appears to have only accelerated in the UK. As is often the case, the attacks on free speech increase during periods of unrest, anger or fear. With the recent anti-immigration riots, British authorities have used their laws to round up a large number of citizens expressing anti-immigrant views and some have already been convicted. Those cases include Wayne O’Rourke, 35, who has been sentenced to three years in prison for “stirring up racial hatred.” Continue reading ““Keyboard Warrior”: British Crackdown Results in Three-Year Sentence Over Anti-Migrant Postings”