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NY Senators Want To Make Free Speech A Privilege

Posted by Unknown on from the silence-will-still-be-permitted dept.

An anonymous reader writes "A group of four NY state senators have written a paper suggesting that free speech should be looked upon as a government granted privilege rather than a right. They're specifically concerned about cyberstalking and cyberbullying, and are introducing legislation to make both of those against the law. Among other troubling concepts, they argue that merely 'excluding' someone from a group is a form of cyberbullying."

4 of 624 comments (clear)

  1. Welcome to Canada? by Jailbrekr · · Score: 2, Interesting

    In Canada, we do not have free speech in absolute terms like our southern counterparts. The difference between us and what those senators are suggesting is that we have a Charter of Rights which protects us from any attempt of gov't approved censorship. It can be annoying at times, but it keeps the holocaust deniers at bay.

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    Feed the need: Digitaladdiction.net
    1. Re:Welcome to Canada? by Zirbert · · Score: 3, Interesting

      In Canada, we do not have free speech in absolute terms like our southern counterparts. The difference between us and what those senators are suggesting is that we have a Charter of Rights which protects us from any attempt of gov't approved censorship. It can be annoying at times, but it keeps the holocaust deniers at bay.

      We actually have massive government-perpetrated censorship. So-called "human rights commissions", which are government bureaucracies, impose large fines, with no real legal recourse, on those targets (carefully chosen, of course) who violate the supposed rights of others not to be offended. As long as those others are members of the correct groups, of course.

      I know a lot of people in general, and Slashdot readers in particular, won't/don't agree with many of Ezra Levant's positions, but he's done more to shine disinfecting sunlight on the HRCs than all the "civil liberties" groups in Canada combined. Googling his name and doing some reading will quickly show just how fragile supposed freedom of speech really is in Canada. That may be gradually changing, thankfully - there are movements afoot to remove or re-word Section 13 of the Human Rights Act so that just hurting someone's feelings is no longer an offense. In fact, Ezra just did a segment on his show about it: http://ezralevant.com/2011/10/free-speechs-only-hope.html.

      The solution to Holocaust deniers is not to stifle everyone's freedom of speech. Let them say their piece, then let the rest of us refute, rebuke, and roundly mock.

  2. God damn Republicans by OverlordQ · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Those god damn Republicans continuing to erode our rights like this, first Bush and the Patriot Act and now . . . what? They're Democrats? Oh, well then, carry on.

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    Your hair look like poop, Bob! - Wanker.
  3. Re:Bullshit by debiankicksass · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The correct solution is to help kids deal with emotional and verbal abuse, not try to outlaw it. What ever happened to the good old days when as kids we could beat each others ass and have the outcome be what stands? Why are we falling for all of this crap that kids need an emotional outlet? Boys like to fight and need to fight, say what you want and mod me down a notch but I'm of the old school belief of a good scrap settles way more than any counseling.