Having opinions challenged is a gift to be received
Since news broke of the attack on Salman Rushdie, it has been heartening to see such a breadth of support expressed for him, even from unexpected quarters where he has been lauded as a hero of artistic freedom of expression. But not of course from every quarter. Let’s leave to one side the fanatics in […]
What happened at the Sarah Everard vigil
The Home Affairs select committee today heard evidence on the policing of the vigil for Sarah Everard on Clapham Common earlier this month. Griff Ferris, a legal observer for Black Protest Legal Support, described police acting “aggressively” towards those there, saying they were “pushing through the crowd”. Labour MP for Streatham Bell Ribeiro-Addy criticised […]
Anti-protest bill: Freedom dies in silence
The truly frightening thing was that they didn’t even argue for it.
Walking a ‘fine line between popular and populist’.
The first day of debate over the controversial police, crime, sentencing and courts bill drew criticism for the proposals from MPs on all sides. Former prime minister Theresa May gave a stinging assessment of the bill saying it walked a “fine line between popular and populist.” A variety of matters were discussed, including the […]
Silencing Black Lives Matter: Priti Patel’s anti-protest law
It is cancel culture on a statutory footing, directed against the left.
Why we should preserve anonymity on social media
Calls to prohibit ‘anonymous’ social media accounts have intensified.
Social media: Publishers, platforms or something else?
Are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Reddit platforms or publishers?
Free speech proposals are ‘Trojan Horse for authoritarianism’
The government is crushing free speech as part of its free speech agenda.
The ‘invented’ free speech crisis
At the root of the pseudo-crisis narrative are two conflations.
Closing down Trump: Time for a grown-up debate about free speech
We have to get rid of the absolute perspectives before we can honestly discuss the limits.
