Do you feel that freedom of speech is becoming restricted in the UK?
Freedom of speech and the right to freedom of expression applies to ideas of all kinds but it comes with responsibilities which can be legitimately restricted.
Freedom of speech—the right to express opinions without government restraint—is a democratic ideal that dates back to ancient Greece.
Governments have an obligation to prohibit hate speech and incitement. And restrictions can also be justified if they protect specific public interest or the rights and reputations of others.
Today, some 150 writers, academics and activists – including authors JK Rowling, Salman Rushdie and Margaret Atwood – have signed an open letter denouncing the “restriction of debate”.
They say they applaud a recent “needed reckoning” on racial justice, but argue it has fuelled stifling of open debate.
The letter denounces “a vogue for public shaming and ostracism” and “a blinding moral certainty”.
Several signatories have been attacked for comments that caused offence.
“The free exchange of information and ideas, the lifeblood of a liberal society, is daily becoming more constricted,” says the letter.
It also says: “We uphold the value of robust and even caustic counter-speech from all quarters.
“But it is now all too common to hear calls for swift and severe retribution in response to perceived transgressions of speech and thought.”
What are your views? Do you feel free to express your opinions? Do you sometimes feel you are stepping on eggshells? Do you feel your opinions on current issues are valid? Are you comfortable and able to express and articulate your views freely?
