Countering Global
Censorship
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In a world facing mounting censorship, it’s never been more important to protect the right of every person to speak freely.
Freedom of speech is a prerequisite for a free society, and a fundamental human right guaranteed by every major human rights treaty. Upholding this right is essential for the protection of all of our human rights.
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Governments should focus on protecting speech, not squashing it.
Governments across the world are imposing and enforcing laws to silence free expression, and even free thought (e.g. prohibiting silent prayer around abortion facilities). Increasingly, we are seeing not only the failure to protect free speech, but also the introduction of measures by the state to actively silence and sanction free expression.
Without free speech, every human right is imperiled.
The punishment for censorship differs dramatically depending on the context, but it is important to highlight that laws criminalizing blasphemy share the same roots as those banning “hate speech”. Both are state- driven censorship, which manifests in a variety of ways.
- Blasphemy laws violate multiple human rights, including freedom of religion and free speech, and in some cases, impose death for the mere act of peacefully sharing one’s beliefs.
- “Hate speech” laws are inherently problematic in that they are subjective, vague, and arbitrarily enforced. Laws should restrict speech only when there is clear incitement to imminent unlawful violence. European governments have adopted hundreds of hate speech laws, which more often than not only worsen societal tensions.
- Censorship zones, or so-called “buffer zones,” hinder women from hearing offers of help in crisis situations. They aren’t “pro-choice,” but no choice. When they go so far as to forbid silent prayer, this amounts to penalizing thought crimes—unimaginable in a free society.
In a free society, ideas should be challenged with ideas, not criminal penalties.
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