The Future of Free Speech

.exe-pression: July 2025 A Monthly Newsletter on Freedom of Expression in the Age of AI

🔗 Don't miss a beat, check out July's .exe-pression newsletter on our Substack, The Bedrock Principle: www.bedrockprinciple.com/p/exe-pressi...

Did your AI chatbot generate offensive or "biased" content about a politician? Public officials in both the U.S. and abroad are attempting to fight back against criticism with outright bans and other pressure tactics.

We're back with another roundup of this month's AI news 🗞️

From one hemisphere to another, the world is experiencing attacks on free speech. Don't miss this week's Free Flow — packed with arrests, legal battles, internet blackouts, and more.

🔗 Check it out: https://www.bedrockprinciple.com/p/the-free-flow-july-31-2025

Don’t Resort to Censorship to Fight Populism A dire lesson from Brazil.

🔗 Read Jacob’s full piece at Persuasion: www.persuasion.community/p/dont-resor...

🚨 U.S. Sec. of State Marco Rubio just revoked a Brazilian Supreme Court judge’s visa, citing cross-border censorship.

But just because Rubio is being hypocritical in calling out censorship abroad, @mchangama.bsky.social argues, doesn't mean he is wrong about what's happening in Brazil.

Don’t Resort to Censorship to Fight Populism A dire lesson from Brazil.

At Persuasion, I explore how Brazil’s Supreme Court has become both censor and enforcer. Its actions risk undermining the very democratic norms it claims to be protecting.

🔗 Read the full piece: www.persuasion.community/p/dont-resor...

Imagine if Chief Justice Roberts gave Justice Alito unchecked power to investigate “fake news,” seize private messages, and shut down social media platforms with no oversight or limits.

In the U.S., it would be unthinkable.

🇧🇷 In Brazil, it's a reality.

🗣️ Excited to share that I have completed a counterspeech training course, organized by @futurefreespeech.org 🙏🏼 Grateful for the expertise of @nataliealkiviadou.bsky.social, Mina Dennert, founder of I Am Here International and All contributors who made this learning experience possible 💬 #FreeSpeech

The Free Flow — July 24, 2025 Trump sues The Wall Street Journal for $10 billion, Iran moves to criminalize "fake news," Russia advances bill punishing online searches for "extremist" content, and more.

That’s not all! Check out even more stories about the latest global threats to free speech in this week's Free Flow:

Court Orders Investigation into Growing Misuse of Pakistan's Blasphemy Laws - International Christian Concern On July 15, the Islamabad High Court took a bold step, ordering the federal government to form a commission within 30 days to investigate the growing misuse of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws.

The Islamabad High Court has ordered an investigation into the misuse of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws to press false charges on victims to exhort and silence them. (More from International Christian Concern)
www.persecution.org/2025/07/21/c...

Macrons file US lawsuit over claims France’s first lady was born male Case against rightwing influencer Candace Owens is rare defamation suit from a serving world leader

French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, have filed a U.S defamation lawsuit against controversial right-wing influencer Candace Owens after she claimed Brigette is “in fact a man” (More from @kayewiggins.ft.com and others with @financialtimes.com)

Russian lawmakers pass a bill punishing online searches for information deemed to be 'extremist' Russian lawmakers have approved a bill that punishes online searches for information that is deemed “extremist,” the latest move by government authorities in their relentless crackdown on dissent.

Russia’s lower house has passed a bill fining citizens for “deliberately searching for and accessing extremist materials online.” The state's definition of extremist content includes opposition groups and the international LGBT movement. (More from @apnews.com)

Iran’s parliament mulls criminalizing ‘false news’ in post-war censorship drive Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has submitted an urgent bill to parliament that would impose harsher penalties on social media users and content creators who publish what authorities describe as f...

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has introduced an “urgent” bill that would issue prison sentences, fines, and bans on media activity for individuals found guilty of spreading “misleading” or “false” digital content. (More from @iraninternational.bsky.social)

Trump sues Wall Street Journal and Rupert Murdoch over Epstein article The libel suit, which seeks at least $10 billion in damages, was filed the same day the Justice Department asked a judge to unseal grand jury transcripts tied to Jeffrey Epstein's case.

President Trump has filed $10 billion libel lawsuit against the @wsj.com for an article about a 2003 letter he allegedly sent to Jeffrey Epstein.

(More from Chloe Atkins and Zoë Richards at @nbcnews.com)

“Fake News” — that’s the rallying cry of world leaders when they seek to suppress criticism or control the narrative.

And this week’s Free Flow is chock-full of censorship attempts under the guise of fighting “disinformation” and “extremist" ideas.

Take a peek:⬇️⬇️⬇️

The Anti-"Woke" AI Agenda: Free Speech or State Speech? The Trump Administration’s AI Action Plan demands “neutral” models—but neutrality defined by the government risks silencing dissent.

🔗 Read it here:

The White House’s AI Action Plan claims to champion free expression and neutrality. But does it? Isabelle Anzabi and @jordicalbad.bsky.social warn that certain aspects of the Plan could undermine free expression in the AI era.

The Anti-"Woke" AI Agenda: Free Speech or State Speech? The Trump Administration’s AI Action Plan demands “neutral” models—but neutrality defined by the government risks silencing dissent.

Read it all here: www.bedrockprinciple.com/p/the-anti-w...

At first glance, the Trump Admin's AI Action Plan appears to champion free expression. But in practice, it could risk distorting the information ecosystem it seeks to safeguard.

Our thoughts on the #AIActionPlan from Isabelle Anzabi and
@jordicalbad.bsky.social:

Opinion: Bailey's 'jawboning' attack on AI violates the 1st Amendment A 2023 complaint filed by Missouri, Louisiana, and other individual plaintiffs against the Biden administration argued that executive branch officials “coerced, threatened, and pressured social-media ...

🔗 @ashkhen.bsky.social and Ashley Haek warn that this move raises serious free speech concerns at @stltoday.com:

In 2023, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey sued the Biden administration for pressuring social media companies to censor “misinformation.”

Two years later, Bailey is attempting to do the same thing to AI platforms.

John Stuart Mill would roll in his grave, @mchangama.bsky.social argues, over Brazilian Justice de Moraes' use of 'On Liberty' to justify censorship. Find out what Jacob had to say about it in his conversation with @www.elivieira.com

🔗 Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_iKHUPD31g

Romania’s New Hate Speech Law is Harsh — But Perfectly European The real story isn’t Romania’s law or the president's challenge—it’s how European courts and institutions have paved the way for it.

🔗 Find out what this means for free speech:

Romanian President Nicusor Dan tried to challenge a sweeping hate speech law on free speech grounds. But its not surprising that the Court struck down his case, said @nataliealkiviadou.bsky.social at The Bedrock Principle, since the law perfectly aligns with European standards.

Hate Speech and the European Court of Human Rights: Towards a Principled Approach This book demonstrates that, with few exceptions, the ECtHR's general approach to hate speech has been overly expansive, often undervaluing…

5/ So, when is regulating speech appropriate and necessary?

@nataliealkiviadou.bsky.social offers recommendations for the ECtHR on a principled approach.

Hate Speech and the European Court of Human Rights: Article 17, Memory Politics, and the ECtHR's Selective Silencing In this fourth guest entry on The Volokh Conspiracy, I examine a domain where the European Court of Human Rights...

4/ How can hate speech laws backfire against the very communities they seek to protect?

@nataliealkiviadou.bsky.social explores selective censorship and enforcement.

Hate Speech and the European Court of Human Rights: The Low Threshold Hatred Paradigm—When "Offence" Is Enough to Restrict Speech In this third post in The Volokh Conspiracy guest series, I examine a critical issue in the European Court of...

3/ What happens if the threshold for regulating speech goes from “incitement to violence” to mere offense?

@nataliealkiviadou.bsky.social discusses how this makes certain speech vulnerable.

Hate Speech and the European Court of Human Rights: Hate Speech, Its Effects and the Question of Regulation In this post I look at my book's key findings on the effects of hate speech and the controversies surrounding…

2/ Should hate be addressed by legal restrictions on speech?

@nataliealkiviadou.bsky.social discusses the effectiveness and unintended consequences hate speech law.

Hate Speech and the European Court of Human Rights: An Overview of My New Book The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has traditionally maintained that freedom of expression safeguards speech that may "offend, shock…

1/ ICYMI — Part 1 of @nataliealkiviadou.bsky.social's blog series provides an overview of her book’s key findings.

Read it here:

In a 5 part series at @volokhc.bsky.social / @reason.com , @nataliealkiviadou.bsky.social summarizes key findings of her latest book 🔽🧵