Free Speech and Turbulent Freedom: The Dangerous Allure of Censorship in the Digital Era

by Michael J. Glennon Narrated by Perry Daniels

Overview

A vast censorship regime has smothered America's digital marketplace of ideas, squelching free speech on vital policy issues. Its supporters regard its benefits as morally and politically beyond question. They contend it's carried out by private social media platforms, not governmental authorities.



In Free Speech and Turbulent Freedom, Michael J. Glennon offers a timely and incisive response. The censors are short-sighted, he argues. Quibbling over outdated distinctions misses the real threat-which is the fusion of public and private power into a modern-day cartel able to overleap longstanding constitutional safeguards. American democracy, he argues, rests on a decentralized marketplace of ideas independent of the government. In crisp, trenchant terms, Glennon shows how concrete practical concerns justify protecting admittedly harmful online speech-even speech that advocates violence or embraces hatred or apparent falsehood.



To safely self-correct, democracy requires open channels of political communication. Glennon calls on the courts to unblock those channels-to measure such speech against enduring First Amendment precepts rather than pliable international norms-and to protect the speech interests not merely of the government and Big Tech, but of all participants in the marketplace of ideas.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"Michael Glennon's beautifully written book provides a compelling case for protecting freedom of speech when many are expressing doubts about it. Although his arguments for safeguarding expression are timeless, he brilliantly addresses the pressing issues of our time, especially with regard to speech over the internet and social media." — Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean, University of California, Berkeley School of Law

"Michael Glennon lays out powerful, historically-grounded, practical arguments that our robust First Amendment free speech principles best protect the safety of society and democracy-showing the urgency of invoking time-tested First Amendment tenets to curb the massive online speech restrictions that Big Tech has been implementing in collaboration with Big Government. A persuasive refutation of burgeoning claims that we should sacrifice free speech for the sake of such concerns as public health, electoral integrity, and national security." — Nadine Strossen, John Marshall Harlan II Professor of Law Emerita, New York Law School, and past President, American Civil Liberties Union (1991-2008)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940160622699
Publisher:	HighBridge Company
Publication date:	02/27/2024
Edition description:	Unabridged

Videos