Yeah, though my take is not that we should change how freedom of speech is policed by the state (I actually think the clear unambiguous way the 1st amendment protects freedom of speech is very good, and much better at protecting people’s freedom than more wordy ambiguous versions other countries have).
Instead we should make sure there is no such thing as a single company (or person) who is rich enough to buy out the media relied upon by billions of people. The problem that gives freedom of speech is in only one of the issues that kind of the inequality caused in society.
Agreed. “Equal power for all” is a decent basis for a good society.
But when power is mostly denominated in dollars, equality of power almost demands equality of dollars. Tough sell to the folks on the upper half of that current dollar distribution.
I did acknowledge a bit later that I hadn’t picked a great example for the OP. It’s unusual for the owner of a newspaper to get involved in editorial decisions to that extent, but not necessarily a free speech issue.
Some of the later examples are clearer. Whether or not they technically are 1A infringements is up to the courts but they are definitely examples of government attempting to punish, or intimidate, on the basis of political opinions.
Related to the topic of freedom of speech in the US…
Will message boards like this one become an “unsafe” place for people to air their opinions? I’m worried that we’ll end up with a huge police state in the US, and online communications will be monitored, and even citizens (not just immigrants and tourists and visitors) will be “charged” with crimes if they post something that’s anti-MAGA on an internet message board or on social media.
It’s something that never occurred to me as a risk in the US until last November. But now I wonder about it. I guess it depends how far this administration goes to attack speech.
I wish I could say “no”, but honestly I think it’s possible.
One thing we can say though, is we’ll see it coming: the Straight Dope will be way down the list of “commie, woke propaganda” sites. We’ll see the tsunami sweeping away many other sites long before it gets here.
(and sweeping away doesn’t mean cancelled, it can just mean new rules, either externally imposed or pre-emptively due to the risk)
Have not heard from citizens, but phones were grabbed from green card holders entering, then going through their social media.
TIP: delete all apps off phone if you are entering US. You can put them back at the hotel.
I hope we see it coming before it hits. I can’t believe I’m typing this as I sit here in what used to be one of the safest countries in the world to have free speech.
If they can do it to green card holders, they will eventually do it to citizens. It’s just a matter of time. I’m traveling outside the US at least 3 times in 2025. I’ll need to think about what I’m doing when I go, even though I doubt any search of my phone will occur.
Someone started a thing on Facebook that “Star Jones called Elon Musk ‘stupid’ on the air – and then was hit with a $20 million fine!” I’d link to it, but there are no legitimate cites – only to Facebook pages, Threads posts, and YouTube videos.
The reality is bad enough. Nothing is helped by these BS shock posts on social media. Sheesh. Gives future cover to right-wingers to wave away real travesties of justice because “it’s just like that Star Jones story - fake news!”
I reluctantly admire the decision of those at Columbia University to refrain from going into encampment this afternoon. I’m sure the leaders are just biding their time for Trump to enrage people with some astoundingly illegal activity.
