Free Speech News
The Daily Signal provides coverage of free speech battles, censorship issues, and constitutional debates. Includes commentary and opinion pieces on protecting civil liberties in America.
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opinion
Left-Wing Journalists Suddenly Have a Problem With Free Speech
As President Joe Biden took office Jan. 20 with calls for unity, his allies in the mainstream media are beating the drum for squashing political dissent, large or small, and keeping it from being heard by the American people. It’s amazing how “Resist”—once the proud motto of progressive activists—has instantly been turned on its head… -
opinion
Why the Left Has to Suppress Free Speech
Let us begin with this fact: The left always suppresses speech. Since Vladimir Lenin and the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia in 1917, there has been no example of the left in control and not crushing dissent. That is one of the important differences between liberal and left: Liberalism and liberals believe in free speech. (The… -
opinion
Justices to Decide If Public Colleges Face Consequences After Infringing Students’ Free Speech
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Jan. 12 in Uzuegbunam v. Preczewski, a case that will decide whether public universities that infringe their students’ First Amendment right to free speech can be held accountable for it. The case was brought by Chike Uzuegbunam, who was a student at Georgia Gwinnett College from 2013 to 2017…. -
opinion
Crackdown on ‘Gendered Language’ Does Not Bode Well for Free Speech
The mayor of Portland, Ted Wheeler, announced on Twitter just after his reelection that the City Council approved a removal of “gendered language”—meaning feminine and masculine terms—from the city charter, according to the The Daily Caller. OPB, a local news source, said Portland will remove the terms “he or she,” “his or her,” and “himself… -
opinion
Beheading in France by Islamist Requires Fierce Pushback for Free Speech
Earlier this month in France, a teacher who reportedly showed caricatures of the Islamic prophet Muhammad during a civics class was beheaded by an 18-year-old Chechen refugee, who subsequently was fatally shot by police. The teacher, Samuel Paty, was beheaded on the street by Abdoullakh Anzorov. police said. Robin Simcox, director of The Counter Extremism… -
opinion
Free Speech Won at Colleges in California and Ohio. It Should Win in Georgia, Too.
As Free Speech Week concludes, Americans nationwide are reminded that public university campuses provide a unique environment for students to engage in the marketplace of ideas while pursuing higher education. Sadly, however, many public officials have forgotten their own role in encouraging free speech on campus, and some colleges have even received a free pass after violating… -
opinion
The Fight for Free Speech
The violence, looting, and mayhem that this nation has seen over the last several months has much of its roots in academia, where leftist faculty teach immature young people all manner of nonsense that contradicts commonsense and the principles of liberty. Chief among their lessons is a need to attack free speech in the form… -
news
White House Weighs Bill in Response to Big Tech on Free Speech
White House chief of staff Mark Meadows says the Trump administration is contemplating some type of regulation for social media companies as part of the COVID-19 relief legislation being negotiated with Congress. “As much as I’m a guy that says that the social media companies should be able to have their own—what I would call… -
opinion
Campus War on Free Speech Reaches US Newsrooms
Two weeks ago, if you’d asked what American institution was most intolerant of dissenting opinion, preoccupied with promoting radical ideology, and prone to erupting into disruptive temper tantrums, the answer would have been easy. Now it’s not so clear—the hysteria on college campuses has spread to America’s newsrooms. Over the weekend, the opinion page editor… -
opinion
Unserious Objections to Bolstering Free Speech on Campus
Wisconsin lawmakers are taking the issue of free speech on campus seriously again—and, inexplicably, that has some people upset. Legislators recently advanced a proposal based on the commonsense idea that anyone “lawfully present on campus may protest or demonstrate,” as long as they do not interfere with someone else’s ability to do the same. The… -
news
These 10 Colleges Are Ranked ‘Worst of the Worst’ for Curbing Free Speech
The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, a group dedicated to standing up for free-speech rights on U.S. college and university campuses, this week released its annual report chastising the Top 10 schools where it says those rights are most infringed. Among the schools taken to task in this year’s report, “The 10 Worst Colleges for… -
opinion
Conservative Law Professor Challenges Campus Left on Free Speech (and Wins Them Over)
The family who runs a 130-year-old bakery in Ohio was accused of racism after having an Oberlin College student arrested for shoplifting. Hostilities and boycotts against Gibson’s Bakery escalated into a court case debating free speech. Legal Insurrection, a website on politics and law, has followed this case since its beginnings in 2016. Bill Jacobson, founder… -
opinion
The Students Who Fight for Free Speech, and Win
Free speech has seen better days on the college campus. Increasingly, conservative ideas are unwelcome and even shouted down. At some schools, religious groups are being kicked off campus for not allowing nonbelievers to run their organization. It’s a concerning state of affairs—and yet, many students are pushing back and winning in the courtroom. In… -
news
Kentucky Supreme Court Sides With Christian T-Shirt Maker in Free Speech Case
The Kentucky Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday that a printer cannot be forced to print T-shirts that violate his faith. In a case that dragged on for seven years, Blaine Adamson, owner of Hands On Originals, a promotional printer in Lexington, declined to print T-shirts for the Lexington Pride Festival, hosted by the Gay and… -
opinion
A Campus Free Speech Case Shows How Fragile Liberty Can Be
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution begins: “Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech.” Commitment to this freedom, once universally considered fundamental, may be on the rebound. In reviving a lawsuit over the University of Michigan’s censorship code, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit reminded us how… -
opinion
Why Are the Legacy Media Afraid of Free Speech on Social Media?
Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg came to Capitol Hill last week for a House Financial Services Committee hearing where the primary focus was supposed to be to examine Facebook’s proposed cryptocurrency, Libra. But the hearing quickly went far afield. Many of the representatives were eager to push the Facebook founder into getting into the business… -
news
Mark Zuckerberg Leans on Free Speech While Defending Facebook’s Ad Policies
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg pushed back Thursday against critics who believe his company’s new advertisement policies will allow politicians to lie and misinform voters ahead of the election. Zuckerberg defended the new ad policy, which largely exempts politicians from Facebook’s fact-checkers, during an interview with The Washington Post, telling reporters that Americans probably don’t want… -
opinion
Christian Student on Why He’s Suing Chicago Over Free Speech
All they wanted to do was share the gospel message—and they’d been doing it for years in downtown Chicago. But this time, the four Christian college students were shut down by law enforcement. Now, they’re suing the city of Chicago, saying their First Amendment rights to free speech have been violated. One of those students,… -
opinion
Free Speech Is Dying in Britain. Here’s Why the US Has Kept It.
“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction,” President-to-be Ronald Reagan warned in an address to the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce in March 1961. That’s because, now as then, slavery not liberty, and serfdom not freedom, is humanity’s default setting. Those of us in Britain have seen the fulfillment of Reagan’s prophecy. We…