• Frank [he/him, he/him]@hexbear.net
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    10 days ago

    In many regards the US does have radical speech rights compared to much of the world, and often they are respected by the courts. That’s become much less true in the 21st century, and much less true in the last 5 years, but you can still say almost anything as long as you don’t directly threaten the POTUS or actually start organizing. We have libel laws but like compared to the UK we might as well not, the standard for libel is vastly higher than in the UK. There are a lot of laws on the books about sedition and dissent that, up til recently, weren’t a serious legal concern. What Trump is doing really has been a huge breaking of norms around speech.

    Afaik on paper the US free speech regime is one of the most radical on the planet in terms of the limits of what you can say and write before the state comes after you, or you’re civilly liable. On paper.