Trump’s return to Facebook and Twitter is part of a larger shift in “free speech” happening across social media platforms, cable news, and even in Congress. I explain the connections and break it down in today’s piece. statuskuo.substack.com/p/hes-b

@jaykuo Free lies and free hate are an abuse of free speech and must be prosecuted.

@OmbertoAldobrandeschi Not in America. Nearly all lies and hate speech are legally considered free speech here.

@LouisIngenthron Part of the problem. Without lies and hate speech, Trump would be silent.

@OmbertoAldobrandeschi If there were laws allowing the government to suppress what it deemed "lies and hate speech", Trump could have used them to suppress election information and steal re-election.

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@OmbertoAldobrandeschi No, it's not. In America, the executive branch oversees the Department of Justice which is responsible for investigating and prosecuting federal crimes.

@LouisIngenthron So if I said you were a child abuser, I wouldn’t face a judge?
Because “freedom of speech”?
And you think that’s normal?

@LouisIngenthron Germany had completely “free speech” between 1918 and 1933. As lies and defamation helped the Nazis rise to power, today’s German constitution limits free speech: Defamation and lies can be prosecuted.
No matter what a government says.
So, if I called you a child abuser in Germany, you had every right to sue me, and no oversight or department could save me.
The judicial branch should be independent in a democracy.

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