A new legislation to further strengthen freedom of speech protections at Australian universities has been passed by parliament. The Higher Education Support Amendment (Freedom of Speech) Bill 2020 (pdf) amends the Higher Education Support Act 2003 by providing a clear definition of ‘academic freedom’. It also replaces the use of ‘free intellectual inquiry’ with the…
New Laws Strengthen Protections Around Freedom of Speech in Australian Universities
Ontario Superior Court Strikes Down Election Law Restricting Free Speech
An Ontario judge has declared as unconstitutional a section of Canada’s election law designed to prohibit certain kinds of “false statements” during the period of a federal election. Ontario Superior Court Justice Breese Davies released a decision on Feb. 19 declaring Section 91(1) of the Canada Elections Act (CEA) as an unjustifiable infringement on the free-speech rights of…
The Culture Curators Want to Think for You
Commentary Sandor Mecs was a child when his family lived in the town of Szentendre, Hungary. Today, it is a picturesque town 20 miles north of Budapest that is lined with winding cobblestone streets, colorful centuries-old homes, cottages, and churches. It is a tourism center with its flourishing museums, charm, and proximity to the capital….
Hate Speech Laws Take Away Freedom of Speech: Arthur Milikh
Arthur Milikh, executive director of the Claremont Institute’s Center for the American Way of Life, told The Epoch Times that policies and laws regulating hate speech are really about silencing opinions and thus take away freedom of speech, leading to tyranny. “The public view is that to criminalize hate speech really is to rid the…
Violence Flares as Protests Over Jailing of Spanish Rapper Extend Into Fifth Night
BARCELONA—Protesters threw bottles at police, set fire to containers, and smashed up shops in Barcelona on Saturday in a fifth night of clashes after a rapper was jailed for glorifying terrorism and insulting royalty in his songs. The nine-month sentence of Pablo Hasel, known for his virulently anti-establishment raps, has sparked a debate over freedom…
Poland Proposes $13.5 Million Fines for Tech Giants Engaging in Ideological Censorship
New laws proposed by Poland could implement massive fines for tech giants who censor users or remove posts for ideological reasons, according to the country’s Deputy Minister of Justice Sebastian Kaleta. Speaking to Fox News, Kaleta said social media companies have been targeting conservatives, Christianity, and traditional values by banning them or removing posts. “We see that when Big Tech decides to remove…
Freedom of Speech Versus Identity Politics
Commentary Much evidence suggests that freedom of speech may be banned in the coming years under the guise of regulating “hate speech.” Many on the left who demand and welcome this development do not foresee the broad consequences of their actions. Nor do many defenders of free speech sufficiently examine the left’s reasons for banning…
Parler’s New Web Host: Doesn’t Condone All Posts, but Supports Freedom of Speech
The company that helped get Parler back up and running says it may not agree with all the posts on the platform, but it supports freedom of speech. Parler is a social media website that saw an explosion in growth last month when Twitter banned then-President Donald Trump and other conservatives. Shortly thereafter, Amazon Web…
Democrats Seek to Force Big Tech to Police Content More Tightly in Section 230 Reform Bill
Democrat lawmakers have introduced a bill to reform Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, seeking to make big tech companies more accountable and force them to police their content more stringently. Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) on Friday introduced the Safeguarding Against Fraud, Exploitation, Threats, Extremism and Consumer Harms…
House Impeachment Brief Against Trump Threatens Freedom of Speech of All Americans: Dershowitz
Harvard Law School professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz said Thursday that the House impeachment brief against former President Donald Trump, which seeks to undermine Trump’s First Amendment-based argument in his defense, amounts to a dangerous broadside against the freedom of speech of all Americans. Writing in an op-ed for The Hill, Dershowitz made a case against…
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