https://lawliberty.org/the-lefts-reversal-on-free-speech/

The Left’s Reversal on Free Speech

The political left lacks any subtlety in its attitudes toward free speech and the First Amendment. Indeed, whenever liberals cite the First Amendment, they inevitably argue for downgrading it from the pinnacle of constitutional provisions. Although the left once stood up for speech rights, now it seems to think of the First Amendment’s protections not as a command, but simply a consideration.

The left’s shifting attitudes towards free speech have become blatant in the last five years. From the widespread call for censoring covid dissenters to the repression of the Hunter Biden laptop story to the assault on conservative social media to the intensifying campaign for a dragnet censorship against “misinformation,” liberals have greatly narrowed the protections they believe speech deserves.

What makes this change so sad is that it was always liberals who advocated for free speech. As the US Supreme Court developed its free speech jurisprudence in the decades following World War II, for example, liberals consistently pushed for expanded protections. Understanding this original position will illustrate the tragedy of the way left-wingers abandoned their earlier position.

In the 1950s and 1960s, censorship campaigns arose in response to the Cold War and the danger of communist infiltration and influence. These high-profile campaigns were followed in the 1970s and 1980s by efforts to control the burgeoning flood of violent and sexually explicit media speech available to children. Generally speaking, conservatives supported these censorship efforts, or at least acquiesced to them. Behind the banner of the Free Speech Movement that began in California in the 1960s, however, it was liberals who stood as staunch allies of free speech, regardless of how repulsive or destructive that speech seemed.

This defense of free speech prevailed throughout the social and political tumult of the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, and the Watergate crisis. Liberals continued their support of free speech through the 1990s and 2000s, although cracks began to appear as they began succumbing to speech codes and political correctness. It was liberals who strongly resisted a congressional attempt to regulate Internet pornography accessed by children, as well as state attempts to protect children from graphically violent video games. Sadly, though, the liberal position on free speech has eroded considerably for at least the past decade or two, to the point where the political left has become the primary advocate for censorship across an array of speech issues.

Now, except when it comes to the speech of favored interest groups, the left no longer advocates a consistent defense of free speech. Indeed, the only way to mount a principled defense of speech is to defend the speech of those with whom one disagrees. To the left, censorship is no longer a speech issue. It has become a tool within their arsenal of political weaponry.

Instances of leftist-inspired speech harassment span the spectrum of contemporary life. A pro-life position can subject you to FBI harassment. A skepticism on lockdowns or mandated vaccines can brand you as a social outcast. And an adherence to certain religious views can subject you to innumerable sanctions.

Twenty-five years ago, liberals vehemently opposed any regulation of online content, warning that government interference could stunt the growth of the Internet. The way in which American businesses converted the Internet into a growth engine that has reshaped culture and society should be cause for celebration on the left. Instead, its adherents see this triumph of private entrepreneurship as a prompt for greater government control and activism.

Recent events and disclosures have demonstrated the concerted efforts by the federal government to censor the content of social media. But perhaps the most concerning and dangerous liberal stance on speech involves the intensifying censorship campaign against “misinformation.” In fact, California recently passed a law prohibiting AI-generated “deep fake” political communications ahead of elections.

There exists no objective definition of “misinformation,” other than speech with which one disagrees. Therefore, a censorship crusade against “misinformation” threatens to suffocate the marketplace of ideas that has inspired nearly a century of First Amendment jurisprudence.