free speech

5 posts

Network Nodes by Daniel Aleksandersen CC BY

Defending Against Deplatforming: The Three P’s of Protecting Free Speech Online

In Part 1 in this series, I explained why there are no easy answers to social media censorship. The problem is not a “Big Tech” conspiracy to silence particular voices. The problem is that too much of our public discourse is mediated by private platforms — centralized, proprietary, walled gardens. […]

Ralph Breaks the Internet: Social Media District

No easy answers to social media censorship

There are no easy answers to speech, censorship and internet freedoms given the current state of the internet. Some solutions are better than others, but there’s no perfect answer. If someone suggests there’s a simple answer, they’re probably wrong. As Harvard internet law professor Jonathan Zittrain explained in June: The […]

Canadian Human Rights Tribunal Declares Internet Hate Speech Law Unconstitutional

This post originally appeared on Techdirt. The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal has refused to enforce a controversial internet hate speech law, claiming that it’s unconstitutional. The tribunal adjudicator, Athanasios Hadjis, expressed worry back in March about the “chilling effects” that Section 13 of the Canada Human Rights Act would have […]

Student On Probation For Expressing A Negative Opinion About An Instructor On Facebook

This post originally appeared on Techdirt. A student at the University of Calgary was put on academic probation for making the following post on a group titled, “I no longer fear Hell, I took a course with [instructor’s name]:” [Instructor’s name] IS NO LONGER TEACHING ANY COURSES AT THE U […]