Free speech has long been a cornerstone of democratic society. But today, its principles face increasing pressure.
Around the world, governments are expanding speech restrictions in the name of combating misinformation, hate speech, and extremism, while new technologies make it easier to monitor and control public discourse.
Many free speech advocates warn that these efforts risk eroding democracy itself.
Joining the show to discuss this "global free speech recession" is Jacob Mchangama, a senior fellow at FIRE and the founder and executive director of The Future of Free Speech at Vanderbilt University, and Jeff Kosseff, a senior fellow at The Future of Free Speech. Their new book is "The Future of Free Speech: Reversing the Global Decline of Democracy's Most Essential Freedom."
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
02:07 Why write this book?
04:40 Where free speech stands in America today
05:53 What is a "global free speech recession"?
11:22 Free speech's high point and what changed
18:56 Election misinformation, disinformation, and the role of AI
34:40 The EU's Digital Services Act and the UK's Online Safety Act
40:00 Are democracies starting to adopt more restrictive speech laws?
43:52 Solutions to reversing the free speech recession
52:25 Outro
Read the transcript here.
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