Title: Head-To-Head: Should there be limits on freedom of speech? | University Observer
Headings: Head-To-Head: Should there be limits on freedom of speech?
Head-To-Head: Should there be limits on freedom of speech?
Content: We drive at certain speeds, we don’t smoke in restaurants and we do things specifically to avoid harming others. Those that do face punishment. How different, in terms of consequences, are the actions we conduct to the words we say?Professing hate can incite violence. It is often said that the pen is mightier than the sword. Death threats, bomb threats and relentless online abuse that leads some to suicide are hard to defend in the name of free speech. We are all entitled to do and say as we please so long as we are not invading the freedom of others in doing so. Not so extreme, right? How can you defend unbridled freedom of expression when it is clear that this practice breaches the rights of others?The internet is a case study in total free speech gone wrong. The incredible platform we have been given, an opportunity for rousing productive debate and discussion, has been abused. Claims that totally free speech is the answer to debate, discussion and change need look no further than the comments under any article.