I thought that these days the right is the one championing freedom of speech while the social justice people try to shut up anybody who doesn't agree with their worldview.
Scary part is that it does seem to be a part of the left's platform. Decades ago the left used to be the champions of free speech and the right wanted limits. Now that is reversed. Even the ACLU has questioned their commitment to free speech.
But, many (predominantly on the Left) are now seeing liberal free speech as outmoded. Though he's not a serious person, former Prince Harry (who, with his wife, use their celebrity to champion Progressive causes) recently called the 1st Amendment "bonkers"[1]. Even The Atlantic publishes its doubts about it.[2]
My stepfather grew up Jewish in Germany in the early 20th century. He was 13 years old when Hitler became Chancellor. His family got out, and he made his way to the US. He told me very sternly "don't ever think that it can't happen here". Those words stuck with me, and seem now more relevant than ever.
It makes a lot more sense if you include the previous tweet as well.
> There is this old culture of the internet, roughly Web 1.0 (late 90s) and early Web 2.0, pre-Facebook (pre-2005), that had a very strong free speech culture.
This person isn't specifically talking about the general American right to free speech, I don't think, rather the libertarian / "Californian ideology" bent of the 90s web and those who were at its forefront.
"For all intents and purposes, freedom of speech has flatlined in America."
No - 'Freedom of Speech' is at an all time high.
The internet gives every single person a giant soap box to stand on.
You can communicate, in public, with anyone in the world.
25 years ago, you had no voice.
Now, everyone can be a 'journalist' or 'agitator' or whatever.
The level of open communication possible today was unthinkable 25 years ago.
25 years ago most people didn't have access to 'most news'. The NYT maybe was accessible by the elite in most towns, but the LA times was not. Now it's all available to everyone.
Not sure why he is getting downvoted, this is accurate. They used to defend free speech rights for abhorrent people whose positions they strongly opposed like KKK members and Neo-Nazis, on principle. They are now entirely focused on left activism.
>> "Not only has it thrived, it’s boosted by ad-driven social media companies to antagonize engagement."
The love and vociferous defense of "quote dunking" on Twitter, and now Bluesky, is I think the strongest evidence that free speech is alive and well on the center and left. If they wanted to silence someone, they certainly wouldn't drag them in front of all their followers.
That people I respect who used to be free speech advocates now are talking about "low value" speech etc. Check out the quote from Daniel Solove: “the law is hampered because it overprotects free speech.”
The left and the right used to both agree on free speech as a fundamental inalienable principle, even as late as the early 2010s. That has only changed in recent times and I do think the game has changed in journalism as well, as a result of that trend.
There was actually a time when freedom of thought/expression used to be a rallying cry for the left. Probably at a time when communists were being locked up. How times have changed.
I've felt somewhat gobsmacked seeing free speech go from being seen as more left than right to the opposite in recent years.
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