Is free speech declining worldwide?

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

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