Free Speech Roundup: Week of May 6th, 2018

A summary of the top free speech related news and events from the past week. This week we have news on the Day for Freedom event, a couple lawsuits, and international news from Gambia.

Freedom of speech is the right from which all other human rights follow because it allows people to address grievances and protest for their other rights. It is therefore of the utmost importance to protect the right to express oneself freely from those who seek to restrict it.

The Day For Freedom

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/day-for-freedom-protest-in-london-scuffles-break-out-as-thousands-descend-on-capital-for-farright-a3832441.html
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/06/thousands-of-far-right-protesters-march-in-london-in-support-of-free-speech
http://www.spiked-online.com/newsite/article/the-day-for-freedom-was-not-a-far-right-rally/21377
On Sunday, thousands marched in the Day For Freedom event in London. Several prominent figures spoke to the crowd including Count Dankula, Sargon of Akkad, Milo Yiannopoulis, Tommy Robinson, Lauren Southern, and others. The purpose of the event was to support freedom of speech and protest infringements by the government. Media coverage attempted to disparage it as “far-right,” but the speakers and crowd represented diverse political opinions coming together to protect free speech. Counter protesters including Antifa shouted at attendees, but remained nonviolent. Here are links to the speeches by Count Dankula, Sargon of Akkad, Lauren Southern, Milo Yiannopoulis, Tommy Robinson. Live coverage and interviews at the event by Tim Pool can be seen here.

University of Michigan Sued Over Speech Codes

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2018/05/08/suit-alleges-university-michigan-disciplinary-code-limits-speech/34705915/
Speech First, a legal group for students’ rights, filed a federal lawsuit against the University of Michigan on behalf of three unnamed students. The lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of the university’s disciplinary codes. It claims that the disciplinary code is too vague and the Bias Response Team creates a chilling effect on campus. It says that any action which may hurt someone’s feeling can be seen as an incident of bias and result in punishment ranging from required training sessions to expulsion. Students refrain from speaking on controversial topics for fear of receiving a bias complaint. This is the first lawsuit filed by Speech First since its inception in February.

Arizona Man Sues For Right To Boycott

http://kjzz.org/content/639944/arizona-lawsuit-could-test-limits-free-speech-right-boycott
Mikkel Jordahl and the ACLU are suing the state of Arizona over a law which prohibits state and local governments from doing business with anyone engaged in a boycott of Israel. Jordahl is an attorney who has a part-time contract with the local county jail. He wishes to personally boycott “the companies that are profiting from the occupation on the West Bank.” A new clause appeared in his contract several years ago forbidding involvement in any boycott of Israel, which he signed under protest. Instead of renewing his contract, he chose to now sue the state for infringing on his free speech rights. In January, a federal judge ruled against a similar Kansas law saying, “The Supreme Court has held that the First Amendment protects the right to participate in a boycott like the one punished by the Kansas law.”

Gambia Supreme Court Upholds Sedition Law

https://globalvoices.org/2018/05/11/netizen-report-gambia-supreme-court-ruling-leaves-the-future-of-free-speech-uncertain/
In a mixed ruling for free speech, the Supreme Court for the West African nation of Gambia declared the 2013 Amendment to the Information and Communication Act (ICA) unconstitutional while upholding the sedition law. The amendment criminalized online defamation and the spread of “false news” on the internet, imposing heavy fines and prison times for violators. The Gambia Press Union had challenged the country’s sedition, libel, criminal defamation, and false news laws. The regional court of the Economic Community of West African State recently ruled all of those laws unconstitutional, but the Gambian Supreme Court disagrees on sedition laws. Journalists and individuals will continue to be punished for speech critical of the president.

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Recent Free Speech Roundups:

Free Speech Roundup: Week of Apr. 29th, 2018
Free Speech Roundup: Week of Apr. 22nd, 2018
Free Speech Roundup: Week of Apr. 15th, 2018
Free Speech Roundup: Week of Apr. 8th, 2018
Free Speech Roundup: Week of Apr. 1st, 2018

Other Free Speech Posts:

Count Dankula Sentenced
UK Speech Police Offended Again
Lèse-majesté: Archaic Anti-Speech Law
California Bill Threatens Online Press and Speech
UK Parliament Report on Campus Free Speech
Thoughtcrime in the UK?
New Study Shows College Students Conflicted on Free Speech
Who is most supportive of free speech?
Campus Free Speech Zones
Hitchens on Free Speech - Must Watch

Free Speech Resources:

The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education
The American Civil Liberties Union
Notable 1st Amendment Cases – ALA
Milton’s Areopagitica – Modern English Translation
On Liberty by John Stuart Mill – Audiobook

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
~ First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States