Every now and then the idea of protecting Free Speech crops up and I admit that I have never really understood the freedom of speech thing or the demands to defend to the death the right for someone to say it because to me, if you are about to say something ridiculous, insulting or just plain ignorant i would prefer it that you kept your big fat gobs shut and said nothing at all.
Speaking to other people (freely), it seems that I am not the only one confused on what it actually is as everyone claims to support it, yet few agree on what it actually allows what you can and can't say and where and when can you say it.
Legal experts point to Article 19 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states that: 'Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers' which seems to be saying you can say what you want where you want but hang on, the UK's Article 10 of the Human Rights Act 1998, guaranteeing free expression but has restrictions for public safety, preventing crime like hate speech, incitement, harassment, defamation, or national security, with recent laws like the Online Safety Act 2023 and rules for universities balancing expression with preventing harm and ensuring campus safety.
So we can't say what we want because there are limitations unless you are in a University which are protected by a specific act, the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023) so a good rule of thumb is if you are about to say something ridiculous, insulting or ignorant make sure you are in a University first although us British do have our own way of dealing with it, say something absurd and we won't defend the right for you to say it, we will take the piss out of you mercilessly, which also seems to work.
FOAB Information
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