Free Speech

Freedom of speech has nurtured democracy since ancient Athens, though rulers and some religions suppressed it for centuries. The Reformation and the printing press made free speech almost impossible to restrain, explains author and podcaster Jacob Mchangama, the founder and executive director of the Future of Free Speech Project. With the 1700s French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, and the ratification of the US Constitution’s First Amendment, freedom of speech and the press became intrinsic to Western democracy. However, autocrats suppress these freedoms, and technology challenges them. As the author explains, people and governments must treasure free speech and use it with care.