“And it should go much further than the old Magna Carta, to enshrine the rights we have asserted over generations since. A free press. Genuinely free. Freedom of expression. And yes, that means on social media too” - Davey calls for a new written constitution to defend our freedoms and rights in his Lib Dem conference speech. Best I’ve heard from in a while. #freeexpression #rights
Everyone rightfully mocks pearl clutching freaks that argue that video games make you violent because 99% of us are sane enough to make that separation between fantasy and reality.

However, the instant sexuality gets involved, a lot of seemingly rational people act identical to those pearl clutching freaks. They start making baseless claims that people are barely contained sex fiends just chomping at the bit to live out the most fucked up sexual fantasies.

This is despite the fact that almost everyone has some kind of fucked up secret fantasy that they'd need to be waterboarded to admit and would never act on in a million years.

#FreeSpeech #FreeExpression #Censorship #Internet #SocialMedia

A quotation from Henry Commager

We cannot have a society half slave and half free; nor can we have thought half slave and half free. If we create an atmosphere in which men fear to think independently, inquire fearlessly, express themselves freely, we will in the end create the kind of society in which men no longer care to think independently or to inquire fearlessly.

Henry Steele Commager (1902-1998) American historian, writer, activist
Essay (1949-11-05), “What Ideas Are Safe?” Saturday Review

More about this quote: wist.info/commager-henry-steel…

#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #henrycommager #fear #freeexpression #freedomofspeech #freedomofthought #freethinking #independence #inquiry #intellectualfreedom #oppression #questioning #thoughtcontrol

Lords in the U.K. push to ban all ‘step sis’ ‘step mom’ porn. Well not quite ‘all’ as they rely on Sec 27 of sexual offences act 2003 so Police will have to somehow work out if it’s a fictional representation of a legal or illegal sexual step relationship. https://www.lbc.co.uk/article/pornography-sexual-relationships-step-relatives-5HjdTkd_2/ #stepbro #porn #freeexpression
Pornography depicting sexual relationships between step-relatives set to be banned | LBC

So-called "barely legal" pornography and content depicting sexual relationships between step-relatives are set to be banned amid efforts to regulate intimate image sharing.

LBC

Critics slam German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's push to end online anonymity as a "demolition ball" to freedom of expression. Is real-name posting the cure or a threat to open debate? 🚜🗣️ #FreeExpression #DigitalRights https://www.heise.de/en/news/Demolition-ball-for-freedom-of-speech-Criticism-of-Merz-s-anti-anonymity-course-11184925.html
#Newz

Me #2cents #objection #gif

https://tenor.com/view/nuh-uh-meme-nuh-uh-phoenix-wright-ace-attorney-gif-15697829963566837629

Demolition ball for freedom of speech: Criticism of Merz's anti-anonymity course

The Chancellor calls for an "open visor". However, experts and the opposition see this as dangerous populism that ignores the causes of online hate.

heise online

[en] Reconstructing Free Expression

"The Trump administration is engaged in a full-scale assault on First Amendment rights and values, violating laws and using threats to create a climate of fear and self-censorship. Its attacks—often successful—have exposed significant, longstanding weaknesses in the laws, institutions, and norms that underwrite public discourse."

"This initiative will encompass a series of closed convenings with scholars and advocates to generate ideas for legal, institutional, and other reforms ..."

https://knightcolumbia.org/research/reconstructing-free-expression

#freeexpression #firstamendment #usa #selfcensorship #trumpadministration #knightcolumbia #columbia #cornell #universitychicago

Reconstructing Free Expression

Knight First Amendment Institute
The Night South Carolina Opened Fire on Its Own Children - Lest We FORGET.

Orangeburg, South Carolina — February 8, 1968American history remembers Kent State. It remembers the photograph, the outrage, the arguments that followed. What it rarely remembers is that two years earlier, in a small Southern town, police opened fire on unarmed Black students who were trying to leave.The event is known as the Orangeburg Massacre, though for decades it barely registered as a massacre at all.By 1968, segregation was illegal. The Civil Rights Act had been law for four years, but O

Ian Kydd Miller
Shinedown has become the fourth artist to withdraw from Kid Rock’s “Rock the Country” festival, citing concerns over the event’s political associations. The band emphasized their mission to unite audiences through music and chose to step back to avoid further division, despite some critics arguing it politicizes their art. Following Ludacris’s last-minute withdrawal, the lineup faces ongoing controversy, with Wade and Faith remaining silent. This move reflects growing artist pushback against events linked to polarizing political agendas. Learn more: https://variety.com/2026/music/news/kid-rock-maga-country-music-festival-loses-shinedown-1236654617/ #MusicAndPolitics #ArtistDecisions #RockTheCountry #Unity #FreeExpression #CulturalDivide
Kid Rock's MAGA Country Music Festival Loses Shinedown, More Artists

Shinedown became the fourth artist to pull out of Kid Rock's MAGA-leaning music festival, joining Ludacris, Morgan Wade and Carter Faith.

Variety

Roman satire revealed power’s fragility through laughter.

When humor undermined authority, emperors responded by criminalizing mockery rather than violence.

History reminds us why satire has always been dangerous to rulers.
🗡️😂

#History #FreeExpression #Brewminate

https://brewminate.com/silencing-the-laughing-knife-satire-power-and-censorship-in-the-roman-empire/

Satire and Censorship in the Roman Empire

How Roman emperors criminalized satire and dissent, revealing why authoritarian power always fears laughter, commentary, and public interpretation.

Brewminate: A Bold Blend of News and Ideas

There is so much to he said about the hypocrisy of France's proposed #SocialMediaBan for children, but let's start with this quote from President #Macron:

"The emotions of our #children and #teenagers are not for sale or to be manipulated, either by American #platforms or Chinese #algorithms."

As if those were the only two God-given options. He'd rather ban an entire idea than help us build something better.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/27/france-social-media-ban-under-15s

#DigitalRights #AccessToInformation #FreeExpression

French lawmakers vote to ban social media use by under-15s

Legislation, which also bans mobile phones in high schools, would make France the second country after Australia to take such a step

The Guardian