>It's not unchecked free speech. Instead, it's unchecked curation by media and social media companies with the goal of engagement.
Unchecked free speech has always been an issue, which is why even in America, where free speech occupies one of the highest rankings of competing social virtues by dint of history, there are still a litany of narrow carve outs.
Do you lie to your business parters in the context of a transaction? We hit you with fraud, misrepresentation, or any number of torts. Do you threaten someone with bodily harm? Oh boy. Cyberbullying? Depending on your state, that might be a problem. Lying while under oath or to a federal agent? That's potentially a few years behind bars.
So yes, unrestricted 'say anything lmao' free speech does not exist. It has never existed. It will never exist.
Everyone who does us the disservice of trotting it out as if it does exist is creating a strawman which distracts us from a more honest conversation.
Which isn't 'should there be a line at all?' It's 'where should that line be drawn?'
Unchecked free speech has always been an issue, which is why even in America, where free speech occupies one of the highest rankings of competing social virtues by dint of history, there are still a litany of narrow carve outs.
Do you lie to your business parters in the context of a transaction? We hit you with fraud, misrepresentation, or any number of torts. Do you threaten someone with bodily harm? Oh boy. Cyberbullying? Depending on your state, that might be a problem. Lying while under oath or to a federal agent? That's potentially a few years behind bars.
So yes, unrestricted 'say anything lmao' free speech does not exist. It has never existed. It will never exist.
Everyone who does us the disservice of trotting it out as if it does exist is creating a strawman which distracts us from a more honest conversation.
Which isn't 'should there be a line at all?' It's 'where should that line be drawn?'