Bündnis Redefreiheit is organising a discussion with Harvey Silverglate on freedom of speech itself and how Europe needs a First Amendment. Silverglate is a co-founder of the American Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and an expert when it comes to questions of censorship. This discussion will be held in English.
Europe and the West in general are in a free speech crisis. The EU has implemented its Digital Services Act, which censors legal posts online despite their legality. The laws of various countries are being expanded to officially criminalise hate speech, even in Switzerland.
In Switzerland, for instance, so-called transphobic speech is under assault, since our Federal Council and the parliament want to curb it by instituting new laws and expanding old ones. Criticism of gender ideology will soon no longer be lawful, if these trends continue. Another development is the move to ban criticism of Islam or to penalise a critique of the Swiss government itself, especially regarding our state's behaviour during Covid.
This will be a night of many questions. Is censorship ever good? Is America’s First Amendment desirable or good? Does Europe need something similar? Do we even face a free speech crisis in Switzerland? How is President
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Bündnis Redefreiheit is organising a discussion with Harvey Silverglate on freedom of speech itself and how Europe needs a First Amendment. Silverglate is a co-founder of the American Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and an expert when it comes to questions of censorship. This discussion will be held in English.
Europe and the West in general are in a free speech crisis. The EU has implemented its Digital Services Act, which censors legal posts online despite their legality. The laws of various countries are being expanded to officially criminalise hate speech, even in Switzerland.
In Switzerland, for instance, so-called transphobic speech is under assault, since our Federal Council and the parliament want to curb it by instituting new laws and expanding old ones. Criticism of gender ideology will soon no longer be lawful, if these trends continue. Another development is the move to ban criticism of Islam or to penalise a critique of the Swiss government itself, especially regarding our state's behaviour during Covid.
This will be a night of many questions. Is censorship ever good? Is America’s First Amendment desirable or good? Does Europe need something similar? Do we even face a free speech crisis in Switzerland? How is President Donald Trump to be evaluated under a lens that prioritises free expression? John Stuart Mill is often cited as a remedy to the censorship troubles we face these days, but it may be that old solutions no longer apply if censorship has evolved its form. Should we extend free speech protections to the most vile views imaginable, or should we not tolerate the intolerant?
This event will give audience members a lot of time to say what they think, to ask questions and make points of their own. So, we hope to see you there and hear from you.
Event location: Volkshaus Zürich, Zimmer/Room 22, Stauffacherstrasse 60, 8004 Zürich.
Doors Open: 18:30
Start of Discussion: 19:00
Discussion Ends: 20:30
To cover the event’s costs, each ticket will be priced at CHF 25. You can also pay at the door in cash or by TWINT.
Speaker:
Harvey Silverglate is a leading American civil liberties attorney and free speech advocate, co-founder (with Prof. Alan Charles Kors) of FIRE (the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression), and co-author (again with Prof. Kors) of The Shadow University: The Betrayal of Liberty on America's Campuses, a seminal critique of speech codes and Due Process of Law violations in higher education.
Chair:
Andrea Seaman is the Managing Director of Bündnis Redefreiheit and the Co-President of LGB Alliance Switzerland.
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