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0 pointsjltsiren1y ago0 comments

Only in the narrow sense, where freedom of speech is only about the lack of government censorship. But in the wider sense, where censorship may also be due to business interests or cultural and societal pressure, I haven't seen any real differences between freedom of speech in the US and the European countries I'm familiar with.

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ruthmarx1y ago

What would be some examples of voluntary censorship from large organizations due to business interests or cultural and societal pressure and not due to government censorship?

jltsirenOP1y ago

Consider the content policies for popular social media platforms. Consider the platform unilaterally closing your account, which may be tied to many aspects of your life. Remember the cancel culture people used to talk about a few years ago. Think about the controversy around the Gaza war, with people on both sides being afraid to speak their minds due to potential consequences.

While the government may not arrest you, the consequences of expressing your opinions can still be excessive.

ruthmarx1y ago

That's true, but I don't think the US is any worse than this than say EU or Anglosphere countries, and indeed I'd still say it would be better than most countries just because of that particular freedom being more culturally significant.

If I read your original comment right, you were agreeing that the US might be ahead as far as government censorship but not as far as the types you list here, is that correct?

stoperaticless1y ago

First thing comming to mind : https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cancel_culture

ruthmarx1y ago

That's a good example, although is that really more prevalent in the US than in other countries? And it's not exactly censorship, it's people being fired as a consequence or de-platformed, but they can still state their opinions somewhere, even if it's on an alt right platform with barely any subscribers.

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ruthmarx1y ago

What would be some examples of voluntary censorship from large organizations due to business interests or cultural and societal pressure and not due to government censorship?

jltsirenOP1y ago

While the government may not arrest you, the consequences of expressing your opinions can still be excessive.

ruthmarx1y ago

If I read your original comment right, you were agreeing that the US might be ahead as far as government censorship but not as far as the types you list here, is that correct?

stoperaticless1y ago

First thing comming to mind : https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cancel_culture

ruthmarx1y ago

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