Daily Archives: February 14, 2021

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. (First Amendment to the Constitution)

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. (Exodus 20:16, KJV)

The first quote is the law of the land, the second is not. Further, the first quote makes it clear that it is up to the individual to decide whether to adhere to the second quote.

To some extent, and in the spirit of free speech, the U.S. Constitution permits the bearing of false witness or lying as a constitutional right. The framers of the Constitution were more concerned about the suppression of speech than the corruption of it. They reasoned that men [and women] of good conscience would outweigh those with no conscience.

But the framers of the Constitution could not possibly envision the power and ability of the internet and mass media outlets to spread and amplify lies to millions of Americans. Worse, that in the two-party system that emerged after the First Amendment was adopted, one party would use mass media and the internet to develop alternative versions of reality; one steeped in populist beliefs augmented by an unscrupulous orator.

Lies and misinformation threaten to destroy our free speech. We have all witnessed that firsthand. In the past three months, we have seen how Donald Trumps lies about a stolen election led to an insurrection against the government and a loss of faith in our election process, the very heart of our democracy.

In the backlash of these lies, several entities, most notably Dominion and Smartmatic, the makers of election software, are suing Trumps lawyer as well as several news sources in multi-billion-dollar lawsuits on charges of defamation. Now the courts will decide how much free speech will be permitted to destroy the reputation of a company, an individual or a states election process.

This appears to be the future direction of free speech in America. An individual, a company or a political party can openly tell lies or spread misinformation and then magnify it in public media and leave it to the courts to decide whether their right to free speech can ruin a persons life or destroy another company or even democracy itself.

Further, since litigation of this magnitude often requires large financial resources, the litigation of slander will often come down to a question of wealth and monetary backing. Free speech in America will exist only for those who can afford to back it up in court.

Even if the Constitution permitted the restriction of free speech against slanderous lies, we would not be able to regulate our way out of bearing false witness. The dividing line between what speech is permissible and what is illegal would be more dynamic than it is now. I believe the framers of the First Amendment understood that.

The United States has grown from a rebellious group of idealistic colonies to the most powerful nation ever to have existed. We are so powerful that the temptation of that power will cause many to trade their integrity to obtain it.

In the end, our democracy depends upon our integrity. Our freedom of speech is our most important heritage. To preserve it, we must speak truth and stand up to those who would pervert it.

(James Fieseher lives in Dover.)

Read the original here:
My Turn: Our biggest threats to free speech - Concord Monitor

Social justice movements and conspiracy theories have become a hallmark of our time, but how do we know which inflammatory statements are legally protected and which are not?

Sociology Professor Nella Van Dyke sheds light on the legal and social ramifications of free speech in this Q&A. Van Dyke is an expert on social movements in relation to hate crimes, with recent studies of the movement against sexual assault, college student protest, LGBTQ+ college student experiences and racist hate crimes on campus. Her work has been published in leading journals including Social Forces, Social Problems and the American Sociological Review. She has co-edited two books: Strategic Alliances: Coalition Building and Social Movements and Understanding the Tea Party Movement.

Van Dyke joined UC Merceds sociology department in 2008 and is a founder of the departments undergraduate and graduate programs. She teaches courses in sociological theory, hate crimes, sexuality and statistics.

The Constitution itself does not define free speech, but the First Amendment of the Constitution says Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Because of this, every person in the United States has freedom of speech.

Because of the First Amendment, most speech is protected in the U.S., but not all types.

Speech that threatens another individual, defames their character in a manner that causes damage, is considered obscene, incites violence or creates a hostile environment is illegal.

The goal of hate speech is to silence and exclude. Hate speech is technically legal, unless it occurs in a repeated way in a location which the individual cannot avoid, thus creating a hostile environment, or, if it is directly threatening to the individual who hears it. Note that hate speech can be used as evidence in a hate-crime case. If hate speech occurs during the commission of a crime, it can be used as evidence that the crime was a hate crime, though the speech itself is not illegal.

There is no question that racist and other bigoted speech is harmful to marginalized students and harmful to the university as a whole. The problem, however, is that hate speech is difficult to define. Some colleges have enacted anti-hate speech policies, but ironically, these have almost always ended up being used against the students they were intended to protect.

If we allow authorities to enact laws against hate speech, they may use these laws against those seeking social justice. For example, during the 1800s, many Southern states in the U.S. made it illegal to speak out against slavery because they said it would incite violence. While it is understandable that many members of our community would like to see hate speech banned either on campus or by state or federal governments, these policies are unlikely to hold up in court, and we have to be careful about how much power we give authorities over us.

The courts are very consistent in their rulings on free speech. Decisions and definitions of what speech is allowed do change over time, but not very quickly, and challenges that go against established precedent are not very likely to succeed.

UC Merceds principles of community call for all of us to treat one another with dignity and respect, and to be civil when engaged in dialogue. Therefore, we should all try to avoid speech that dehumanizes, disparages or hurts another person. In terms of what is legal, we have more freedom. Legally, we should avoid threatening a specific individual with harm, trying to get others to commit crimes or acts of violence, or repeatedly using hate speech around an individual or particular group of individuals. However, we can all do better than that by following UC Merceds principles of community and encouraging others to do so.

Only government entities are required to follow the direct limits imposed by the Constitution. Private actors must follow the law, but not the directives described in the Constitution. Public universities must therefore allow free speech, including hate speech. Private institutions, including businesses and private colleges and universities, can enact policies limiting speech, including anti-hate policies. Private citizens can do what theyd like in private (e.g., at home), as long as they obey the law. When they are acting within an institutional space, they must follow the rules of the space. Thus, an individual at a public university has the right to free speech and cannot get penalized for hate speech (unless it includes a direct threat or otherwise breaks the law), while someone on a private college campus could face disciplinary action for hate speech if it violates the campus speech policies.

As a private company, Twitter has the right to decide what content or users it wants to allow. Therefore, legally it had the right to suspend Trumps account. Twitter states that it banned his account because it determined that his tweets violated its policy against the glorification of violence. Twitter decided that his tweets could inspire others to replicate violent acts and determined that they were highly likely to encourage and inspire people to replicate the criminal acts that took place at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Its also possible that Twitter was concerned about liability because it is illegal to provide resources to those aiming to overthrow the U.S. government and it is illegal to participate in inciting violence.

Social media users can do research on the platforms terms of service and posting policies. Users should be aware that even if they have the right to post almost any content, the platforms have algorithms that decide what content to promote. Facebooks algorithm, for example, promotes content that evokes strong emotions, and therefore has been found to amplify conspiracy theories and fake news. Twitter, Facebook and Tiktok have all recently released information about their algorithms in an effort to increase public trust, and users can find these online. Ultimately, Im not sure anyone can be 100 percent certain that their right to free speech is being fully respected, because these are private companies that are not bound by the First Amendment.

See the original post:
Q&A: Sociologist with Specialty in Right-Wing Movements on Free Speech and the First Amendment | Newsroom - UC Merced University News

Gavin Williamson issetto reveal a free speech champion with the power to fine universities thatdo notstand up for freedom of speech.

The appointee, which is expected to be announced by the Education Secretary on Tuesday, will also be able to order redressif an individual is dismissed or demoted for their views.

i's education newsletter: news and analysis as schools try to return to normal

The role will sit withinEnglands higher education watchdog, the Office for Students,The Sunday Telegraphreported.

The Conservative Partys 2019 general election manifesto included a commitment to strengthen academic freedom and free speech in universities.

In a letter sent to theOfSearlier this month,MrWilliamson accused the watchdog of not doing enough to protect free speech on campuses. He said there had been little regulatory action by theOfSto potential breaches relating to freedom of speech, despite a significant number of concerning incidents.

He also said he wanted the watchdog to take more active and visible action to challenge concerning incidents that are reported to it or which it becomes aware of.

Concerns about freedom of speech in higher education have grown in recent years, although some commentatorshave saidthe problem is exaggerated.

Dr Jo Grady, general secretary of the University and College Union, said the free speech champion role was job creation in pursuit of a culture war.

Separately, the Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden is due to hold a summit next week with 25 of the UKs biggest heritageorganisations, in which he is expected to tell the bodies to defend our culture and history from the noisy minority of activists constantly trying to do Britain down.

Sir John Hayes, the chairman of theCommon SenseGroup of Tory MPs, saidMrDowden was correct to remindorganisationsthat have strayed from their purpose that protecting and promoting our heritage is about making people proud, not making them feel guilty about being British.

Dr Robert Saunders, a historian at Queen Mary University of London, tweeted that there was a grim ironyin the Government telling heritage groups not to airbrush history while warning themtostop researching slavery and empire.

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Gavin Williamson set to appoint free speech champion with power to fine universities - iNews

There is a fundamental belief among Americans that we have the right to do and say whatever we want because we are protected by the First Amendment. Although freedom of speech exists in America, all speech is not free. There is a cost.

On Monday, the U.S. Senate began debating whether to hold Donald Trump accountable for inciting the Capitol insurrection that resulted in the deaths of five individuals including a Capitol police officer. At issue is a single article of impeachment that accuses the former president of reiterating false claims that he had won this election and that he willfully made statements that, in context, encouraged and foreseeably resulted in lawless action at the Capitol.

In response, Trumps legal team has asserted that the statements he made at the rally were protected by his First Amendment right to free speech. Thus, Trump should not be held accountable for any subsequent actions of the protesters.

In the landmark case of Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969), the Supreme Court, while acknowledging the sacredness of free speech, established that the government can punish what has been defined to be inflammatory speech if that speech is "directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action producing and is likely to incite or produce such action."

However, the impeachment and trial process as set forth in the Constitution may be viewed as a political process rather than a judicial process. There is a difference. In the judicial process, attorneys dispute the existence of necessary facts to establish that the defendant did, in fact, commit the crime. In this political impeachment process, the law will be argued as opposed to the facts. Because this process is taking place in a partisan Senate, it is not likely that Trump will be found guilty, especially given the retributive nature of party politics.

As Americans, we have become comfortable with the concept of freedom, the ability to determine our own destiny. We have freedom of speech, religion, press and freedom. We are free to peacefully assemble, and we have free elections. It was the idea that all men were created equal that inspired one of the greatest civil rights movements in history where oppressed African Americans demonstrated their humanity in refusing to meet violence with violence.

The Capitol insurrection is much bigger than just a few people getting drunk on Trumpism. We the People must defend our nation against the domestic terroristic ideas that threaten our democracy from within such as partisan politics, classism, elitism and racism. As true citizens of America, we must do our part in protecting democracy. If nothing more comes of this impeachment trial, America should be reminded that ideas, not weapons, are the most powerful tools of revolution.

BLAIR D. CONDOLL, J.D.

political science professor, Dillard University

New Orleans

See original here:
Letters: The limits of free speech and the dangers of violence and insurrection - The Advocate