466: Jacob Mchangama | The Free Speech Recession: A Global Decline in Expression

In this episode, Armen speaks with legal scholar and free speech advocate Jacob Mchangama about the shifting global landscape of expression. Drawing on his new book The Future of Free Speech, Mchangama outlines a central claim: we are in the middle of a “free speech recession,” where both democratic and authoritarian systems are increasingly restricting speech—often for different reasons, but with converging effects.

The conversation traces how early optimism about the internet as a tool for openness has given way to a more controlled and centralized environment. Governments now exert pressure on digital platforms, while large tech companies function as de facto gatekeepers of public discourse. At the same time, authoritarian regimes have adapted technology to strengthen censorship and surveillance, creating a more coordinated global push against open expression.

Mchangama highlights the historical foundations of free speech, including post–World War II debates over misinformation and the evolution of U.S. First Amendment doctrine through controversial cases. These examples show how strong protections were often built by defending unpopular speech, with long-term implications for minority rights and democratic resilience.

The discussion also explores modern tensions: misinformation vs. overreach, public platforms vs. private control, and the psychological pull toward restricting speech during moments of crisis. Mchangama argues that top-down control—whether through governments or platforms—often produces second-order effects, including suppression of dissent and erosion of trust.

Possible paths forward include anti-SLAPP laws to protect critics, decentralized platform models, radical transparency, and emerging tools like crowdsourced fact-checking. Underlying all of these is a broader claim: legal protections depend on a culture that values open expression, even when it is uncomfortable.

The episode frames free speech not as an abstract ideal, but as an evolving system shaped by incentives, institutions, and human behavior—one that requires active maintenance to preserve its benefits.

Jacob Jomo Danstrøm Mchangama is a Danish lawyer, purported human-rights advocate, and public commentator. He is the founder and director of Justitia, a Copenhagen-based think tank focusing on human rights, freedom of speech, and the rule of law. For six years, he served as chief legal counsel at CEPOS.