Questions tagged [freedom-of-speech]
The right to communicate without fear of government sanction or censorship. While this right is implied in some countries, it may not be explicit in all of them. For the U.S. see also "first-amendment" tag.
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What is the current state of U.S. law regarding misleading inducements in shadow banning?
The general idea appears to be that social media companies retain the right to deamplify users' voices, for reasons that may or may not be ethical or sensible. The question is whether users have any ...
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Does a misrepresentation have to be fraudulent in order to be unprotected?
To my understanding, there are two types of misrepresentation: negligent misrepresentation (which is not fraud) and intentional misrepresentation (which is fraud).
Is negligent misrepresentation also ...
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Is a movie resonsible for damages caused to unintentional (but undeniable) likenesses?
Say that a huge blockbuster movie mentions a made-up phone number (xxx) xxx-xxxx for the serial killer villain. Except, it turns out that that phone number is real and points to an ordinary Joe. That ...
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Can a person be compelled to violate their religious beliefs if those beliefs are racist?
On one hand, the US Supreme Court ruled in Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States, 379 U.S. 241 (1964), that private businesses cannot refuse service on the basis of race. On the other hand, it ...
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Can factual information be considered impermissible hate speech if it offends someone?
As I recall, Canada's hate speech laws state that speech need only be "likely to expose a group/person to contempt" to be considered criminal hate speech. Several years ago, I watched a ...
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I want to remove school record that reveal my trans status. Can my complaint use terms which stipulate this without identifying as 'transgender'? [closed]
I live in California and ran track in high school.
During winter break of 10th grade, I began my transition and returned in 2014, facing challenges to be treated equally. My former school was slow to ...
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What would be the elements of the hate crime in the coconut placard case?
The facts as reported are:
On November 11, 37-year-old teacher Marieha Hussain joined thousands of pro-Palestine protesters in London to call for an end to Israel’s war in Gaza.
During the rally, she ...
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Is looking up the lyrics for a song illegal?
I was dumbstruck when I found out today that apparently posting the lyrics to a song is copyright infringement. I literally asked ChatGPT for the lyrics to "Around the World" by Daft Punk, ...
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Appropriate insult under law [closed]
Some countries have laws against insults. However the insult is not illegal if it is a direct response to a similar insult or a response to some publicly available information.
Recently a professor at ...
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Can I get into trouble for posting information about a sex offender?
In the vicinity where I reside in Arizona, a neighbor who is classified as a level 2 sex offender has chosen to establish a towing recovery business operating from his residence. Despite the absence ...
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Can legal action be reasonably taken against someone spoiling your work?
Infamously, when the Fight Club was released, Rosie O'Donnell spoiled a huge plot point on her popular show. The movie hinges tremendously on the spoiler, and Rosie probably damaged the experience for ...
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Can the federal government prohibit the publication of software it does not like?
There's a bill scheduled to pass the House today that imposes a $5,000 fine every time someone updates TikTok from a web service you provide. (It's not clear to me whether this only applies if you are ...
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Is it potentially against the law to publicize libel/slander that someone else made?
Nathan the Nobody makes a statement about how X company is horrible, mistreats its workers, has execs that elicit sex for favours, etc.
A publication (e.g. the New York Times) publishes a huge article ...
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Is it illegal to tell others to commit crimes?
There's "conspiracy", which seems to involve cooperating on a crime, and "solicitation", which at least in some jurisdictions is written to require that specific actions ...
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Is it permissible for online forums to not delete possibly illegal user content unless ordered by a court?
In the United States, as some related answers point out (like this and this), Section 230 (47 U.S.C. § 230) protects online forum providers from both civil and criminal liability for user content they ...
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Is Florida’s ban on social media accounts for minor unconstitutional?
Florida is proposing a ban on social media accounts for children under 16. Is there any similar federal precedent that would render such a ban unconstitutional?
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Can legal action reasonably be taken against someone unsavory for endorsing your product/company?
Advertisers don't want their product/company associated with certain people/content. Which is why a lot of ads don't play on more controversial content (e.g. demonetized videos on Youtube).
But what ...
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Is the passage of an unconstitutional law "lawless action" for the purpose of First Amendment protection?
Speech intended to incite imminent lawless action is not protected by the First Amendment. Is the passage of an unconstitutional law "lawless action" for this purpose? Suppose someone who is ...
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Is whistling/catcalling at someone in the street illegal?
I’m curious about the position in any jurisdictions but especially in how they intersect/interact with fundamental freedom of speech provisions such as the U.S. first amendment.
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Is hate speech defined in terms of an impartial principle?
The term “hate speech” is frequently used in public discourse. I do not know if this is a legally defined concept, or if it is instituted by organizations like the Southern Poverty Law Center, for ...
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Rapid oscillation of lighting on a house -- is that protected speech?
With all the Christmas lights in my neighborhood, I was wondering if rapidly flashing lights counts as protected speech. Is there any relevant case law on this?
As for the speech the rapid lighting ...
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Can a goverment body rent space for a public forum from a group that they believe will ban those they legally can't?
Someone who is a member of the government cannot restrict access to a public forum, due to the First amendment. However, a private company are allowed to do so, and often communications that would ...
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Does the context of one’s displays of Nazi emblems matter to its legality?
In Germany, I understand that openly displaying Nazi symbols is illegal but that is heavily dependent on the context indicating that they are being displayed as a promotion or celebration of Nazism. ...
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Are the any limits on what historical terrorist acts can result in criminal charges if glorified?
Jonathan Hall KC, the government’s independent reviewer of terrorism legislation has acknowledged that historical events such as apartheid actions of Nelson Mandela and the revolutionary battles of ...
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Cartoons vs Publicity Rights
I've learned that it's legal to write about famous people without their permission as long as the use is "expressive" rather than advertising. However, I believe it's illegal to use pictures ...
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What features of speech make it incitement?
It is in the news that the UK home secretary Suella Braverman and the Home Office Minister Robert Jenrick consider chanting "Jihad" to be inciting terrorist violence.
Assuming this came to ...
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Is it legal for me to ask people who are applying to work for me if they were in a sorority in college and not hire them if they were? [closed]
Long story short, I have issues with sorority girls dating back to when I was younger that I don't really want to elaborate on here. I have little to no problem with fraternity brothers, and so I ...
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What is the legality of France specifically banning all pro-Palestinian protests?
French Prime Minister Gérald Darmanin has recently instructed the prefects (regional state representatives) to ban all pro-Palestinian protests as they are "likely to cause a public disturbance&...
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Can harassment alarm or distress that arises simply by virtue of the content of the views expressed being found objectionable by another be offensive?
If:
a person expresses some of their views in the most unobjectionable way that they see possible,
that expression causes harassment, alarm, or distress in another, and
Some other person finds the ...
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Can one rightfully sue stack exchange for religious discrimination?
In the disciplined arena of Stack Overflow, a case has come to light where a user faced a 180-day ban for incorporating the term "B”H" at the beginning of their posts.
This term, deeply ...
