Through captivating stories of free speech’s many defenders-from the ancient Athenian orator Demosthenes and the ninth-century freethinker al-Rāzī, to the anti-lynching crusader Ida B. In Free Speech, Jacob Mchangama traces the riveting legal, political, and cultural history of this idea. Today, in democracies and authoritarian states around the world, it is on the retreat. But it is a challenging principle, subject to erosion in times of upheaval. Hailed as the “first freedom,” free speech is the bedrock of democracy. and Meta Platform Inc.’s Facebook from liability for defamation or harassment, along with leeway to moderate discussions and remove or leave up posts.“The best history of free speech ever written and the best defense of free speech ever made.” - P.J.
Plus, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 gives broad protection to online gathering places such as Twitter Inc. The First Amendment to the US Constitution bans censorship by the government, not by private companies such as providers of social media platforms.
Given a chance to weigh in, the US Supreme Court let the status quo stand for now. Social media platforms have faced enormous scrutiny over which content they silence and which they amplify. That was before the internet in general, and social media platforms in particular, proved to be such effective places to spread misinformation about important matters such as Covid-19 and vaccines, disinformation (intentional falsehoods) about politics and elections, plus all manner of conspiracy theories and hate speech, including harassment and bullying.
When the World Wide Web opened for public use in 1991, its enthusiasts proclaimed a new era of unfiltered free expression.
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