Debate: Is freedom of speech absolute? - UpFront

Hate crimes are on the rise across the West, igniting debates around free speech. From arguments in the US about whether white supremacists should be given platforms to say bigoted things, to claims that free speech is under attack at universities worldwide, the issue has been hotly debated and sometimes politicised.

So, should free speech be protected no matter what, even if it means defending so-called hate-speech?

Glenn Greenwald, author, Pulitzer-winning journalist and co-founder of the Intercept, says: "I think it's a really important truth to recognise that just as a matter of pragmatism, there's no such thing as banning ideas. It has never worked. It certainly can not work in the age of the internet. Maybe we can have an ideal world in which it's possible to ban racism and ban the expression of Islamophobia. The opposite is true, though. When you try and do it, you turn them into martyrs, you actually make them stronger."

"In free speech cases, what you have to do is first calculate the cost of regulating the speech in question - emotional, political, economic cost - and then calculate the cost of allowing the speech to flourish, add up the columns, see which costs more, and make your decision accordingly," says Stanley Fish, author of There's No Such Thing As Free Speech, and it's a Good Thing, Too. "Freedom of speech is a value, not a principle, and it's a value of which we must ask the question in any context, is it worth it?"

Glenn Greenwald and Stanley Fish debate whether governments can be trusted to defend both minorities and civil liberties.

[deldia]

Unless we allow lies and hateful speech how will people learn how to identify and question it when it inevitably does get exposed? Governments lie and make mistakes too. It’s a very important skill to question everything - outsourcing that to someone else to filter it for us with laws will create a weaker society.

[garrettw]

There is a freedom of speech but NOT a freedom from consequence. If your speech is not popular or it is hateful expect it to be ignored or confronted. The Trump administration is an example of it.
But let's stay on topic here. Freedom of speech is a freedom from GOVERNMENT regulation of speech. Nothing else. Anyone can say anything without fear of GOVERNMENT interference. This does not extend to public opinion and outcry. We need to differentiate the key points here and not muddy the talk.

[christopherd.phillips]

Freedom of speech is absolute! Period!

[jeffryfernandez]

Glen Greenwald is the man! We need more like him.

[tazisayshi]

One of the principles of law is that no rule is absolute. That means there are limits on freedoms, and of course limits to laws.

[ZeusKnocksYouOut]

Freedom of speech must be a principle in all democracies. What our democracy and all democracies need more of these days(and all throughout history) is social solidarity, so the ideas that oppress others and the suppression of others ideas will be as minimal as possible. In a free society they will always be, but one of the challenges that is inevitable in a free society will be the consistency of radical ideas, because radical ideas can be good as well. There are many examples of that as well.

[alfonstabz]

Freedom of speech is absolute. but it's not free of consequences. freedom of speech means that you can say whatever you want without getting hampered by government or other people. Your freedom of speech can't trample other peoples right to express themselves.

[dannysullivan]

This is a complex issue and anyone who thinks otherwise is fooling themselves. I am particularly worried about what becomes ‘news’ because without a shared sense of reality there is no common ground, nothing on which to base negotiations.

[RstesotTv]

Which part of FREE Thought.... Free Speech is hard to understand.

[jeanclaudejunior]

freedom of speech is not freedom of reach. end of story

[RstesotTv]

Freaks and hate speech. Just let people speak freely. I decided you are all of those bad names and must be silenced.

[xylsky]

When you block me on my way to work to feed my family and pay my rent then I hate you and I'll tell you that.

[theyoutubenomad.]

true freedom of speech, is the freedom to say whatever you want, without fear of being punished or arrested by the government, but of citizens get angry at you well that's your problem

[skanda]

Stanley obviously has a deranged, ulterior motive. It takes quite a bit of mental gymnastics to make sense of his argument/view. The only thing that is clear about his arguments is a whole lot of convolution.

[gasminizar]

Li3ndo colle f englais f hada i dir like

[mfmf]

Yet another far left vs. far left “debate” on AJ.