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‘Restrictions on hate speech can support free speech rather than undermining it’

*Sigh*  How many of you have learned to be very wary when a progressive or academic (the two usually are synonymous) says something like this?

And have you also learned to raise an eyebrow when the aforementioned use weaselly phrases such as “researchers have suggested” and “research has shown”?

Americans’ hesitance regarding regulations on so-called “hate speech” has a rather simple basis: The Left turns anything they do not like into “hate speech.”

Regular readers of The Fix know that quite legitimate discussions about topics such as allowing biological males to participate in female sports, or the inclusion of sexually graphic books in school libraries/classrooms are considered by the Left “transphobic” and/or “homophobic.”

Even showing up to ask hard questions of elected school board officials may get you labeled a “domestic terrorist.”

The Left also turns anything with which they disagree into “mis/disinformation” which also must be regulated (i.e. censored). Heck, U. Michigan law professor Barb McQuade — who declared the Hunter Biden laptop a Russian plot and said President Trump could be charged with manslaughter for January 6 — wrote a whole book on the topic.

Pretty amazing.

Alas, here comes Clemson University philosophy professor Mike Gregory (pictured) in a piece titled “Why deregulating online platforms is actually bad for free speech.”

Gregory says “despite [U.S. free speech] legal constraints, researchers have suggested that upholding the value of free speech requires some content-based regulation.”

The need for citizens in a democratic state to be autonomous speakers and thinkers underscores the importance of content-based regulation in upholding free speech. Research has shown that hate speech online in particular and the proliferation of extremism online in general have a chilling effect on online speech through intimidation and fear. So, restrictions on hate speech can support free speech rather than undermining it.

In addition, the spread of online misinformation and the challenges of detecting it can similarly undermine the people’s ability to exchange ideas and evaluate viewpoints as autonomous speakers or listeners. In fact, research shows that users are bad at distinguishing between true and false claims online. This fundamental weakness undermines your ability to operate as an autonomous speaker or listener.

MORE: U. suspects big tech Google and Meta censoring ads just because it’s Catholic

Was Gregory in a coma the last four years? Unlikely, but he did complete his PhD in the Netherlands during Biden’s term, a country where one can be imprisoned up to a year for “intentionally mak[ing] an insulting statement about a group of persons because of their race, religion or beliefs, their hetero- or homosexual orientation or their physical, mental or intellectual disability.”

American leftists are eager to follow such an example. Note that the Washburn University Black Student Union had demanded “punishments” for “hate speech” (Washburn is a public university).

The student government VP of the University of Illinois (another public entity) ended up resigning because school officials would not “prohibit hate speech.” The matter at hand? Matt Walsh’s discussion of “What is a Woman?”

A couple of years ago, even the Democrat-controlled Michigan State House tried to make it a “hate” crime for “causing someone to ‘feel terrorized, frightened, or threatened.’” Thankfully, the bill never made it through the Senate.

And progressive groups at Michigan State University wanted a message that advised students to ditch mandated DEI trainings deemed “hate speech” — and a “form of violence.”

So, yeah … I think I prefer the more speech approach to free speech. Social media already offers ways to avoid rude/racist/ignorant people: It’s called the “mute” and “block” function. Or do it the old fashioned way — simply ignore such folk and turn off your phone.

MORE: Legal group seeks info on universities’ role in ‘censorship-industrial complex’

IMAGE CAPTION & CREDIT: Protester holds anti-free speech placard; Sam Graham/Flickr.com. INTERIOR IMAGE: Clemson U.

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