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CALL to ACTION: This is an important Committee which has the power to call in senior executives of social media companies and others to give evidence.
Deadline: 3rd January 2021! (Got my Consultations Mixed Up, too darned many, but vital!) https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/93/human-rights-joint-committee/news/120588/inquiry-launch-freedom-of-expression/
Deadline: 3rd January 2021! (Got my Consultations Mixed Up, too darned many, but vital!) https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/93/human-rights-joint-committee/news/120588/inquiry-launch-freedom-of-expression/
Think Joanna Cherry sits on this committee as well, which is ironic, given how much bullying sheâs been subjected 2
Rounds of Consultations can seem tedious but weâre all on holidays & this should be really easy to fill in, if u did the Hate Crime & Communications Consultations.
Rounds of Consultations can seem tedious but weâre all on holidays & this should be really easy to fill in, if u did the Hate Crime & Communications Consultations.
1. Does hate speech law need to be updated or clarified as shifting social attitudes lead some to consider commonly held views hateful?
This report by the Civitas thinktank is really helpful & useful, I think, if you didnât do the Hate Crime Consultation http://www.civitas.org.uk/press/curtail-the-influence-of-hate-crime-entrepreneurs-there-should-be-no-extensions-to-existing-hate-speech-legislation-says-think-tank-report/
This report by the Civitas thinktank is really helpful & useful, I think, if you didnât do the Hate Crime Consultation http://www.civitas.org.uk/press/curtail-the-influence-of-hate-crime-entrepreneurs-there-should-be-no-extensions-to-existing-hate-speech-legislation-says-think-tank-report/
2. Does current police guidance and practice on hate speech law help promote freedom of expression?
Definitely not. All non-Crime hate incidents need to be reviewed, especially in light of Harry Miller case. https://twitter.com/MsGiveZeroFox/status/1334818690513186816?s=20
Definitely not. All non-Crime hate incidents need to be reviewed, especially in light of Harry Miller case. https://twitter.com/MsGiveZeroFox/status/1334818690513186816?s=20
Whatâs happening with @SVPhillimore doesnât lead me to believe âcurrent police guidance and practice on hate speech law help promote freedom of expressionâ.
A comment about her dog means sheâs now logged in a Police file, for a non criminal act. https://twitter.com/MsGiveZeroFox/status/1325737143545835521?s=20
A comment about her dog means sheâs now logged in a Police file, for a non criminal act. https://twitter.com/MsGiveZeroFox/status/1325737143545835521?s=20
I donât think the Police themselves believe that... https://twitter.com/MsGiveZeroFox/status/1337754328002686977?s=20
See here Fromm Cressida Dick... https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/met-police-chief-cressida-dick-backs-top-cop-sara-thornton-on-tackling-burglars-and-violence-not-hate-crimes-a3978526.html
What obligations does an employee have to their employer when expressing views on social media, and to what extent can, and should, employers respond to what their employees say on these platforms?
Letâs ask the teacher at Eton, shall we? https://twitter.com/MsGiveZeroFox/status/1334624396850425860?s=20
Letâs ask the teacher at Eton, shall we? https://twitter.com/MsGiveZeroFox/status/1334624396850425860?s=20
He was sacked from Eton for putting a video that disagreed with the prevailing orthodoxy of âFeminismâ on his personal YouTube page. https://twitter.com/MsGiveZeroFox/status/1334806486204231683?s=20
Or how about Helen Lewis? https://twitter.com/MsGiveZeroFox/status/1325761495435800578?s=20
Her voice was digitally erased from a video game because she talked about the reality of biological sex https://twitter.com/MsGiveZeroFox/status/1325071806445838336?s=20
Maybe, we can ask @BluskyeAllison? Her chambers upheld a completely nonsensical complaint against at the behest of Stonewall for exercising her freedom of speech regarding same sex attraction https://filia.org.uk/news/2020/6/27/allison-bailey-i-am-suing-stonewall-to-stop-them-policing-free-speech
@SonyaDouglas - removed from @Critic_Speak podcast with âimmediate effectâ at the behest of a group that would include white, male-bodied people identifying as oppressed, because her âwords are fine for white guilt, but not for male entitlementâ. https://twitter.com/SonyaDouglas/status/1339603475668238350?s=20
Kevin Price, porter at Cambridge University deemed a âpotential riskâ by Students at Cambridge calling for his resignation or suspension for his views on a far from settled public debate on the competing rights of Women & Trans individuals? https://twitter.com/MsGiveZeroFox/status/1321144554087735300?s=20
The irony of these privileged students https://www.varsity.co.uk/news/20079
Question:- Is greater clarity required to ensure the law is understood and fair?â
Depends on who itâs coming from. Our judges seem to understand importance of Article 10 fine, but itâs clear the Law Commission & certain lobby groups donât have a scooby. https://twitter.com/prestonjbyrne/status/1339685022085902336?s=20
Depends on who itâs coming from. Our judges seem to understand importance of Article 10 fine, but itâs clear the Law Commission & certain lobby groups donât have a scooby. https://twitter.com/prestonjbyrne/status/1339685022085902336?s=20
Meanwhile our Judges whose job it is to interprete the current laws for us are adopting a sensible middle ground for the most part: https://twitter.com/MsGiveZeroFox/status/1338470235922423808?s=20
Even the @BBC donât seem to understand the importance of Freedom of Expression https://twitter.com/MsGiveZeroFox/status/1337453344835637250?s=20
Or read the freedom of expression Provisos we have in LAW, to protect free speech. https://twitter.com/MsGiveZeroFox/status/1337454019061686272?s=20
@Ofcom also appear to be very confused & together with their CEO @dawes_melanie, and are taking advice from lobbyists like Stonewall as to how to manage the silencing of their critics, which is surely a breach of article 10? https://twitter.com/MrJohnNicolson/status/1338804523905716231?s=20
As Damian Green points out, this is very inappropriate position for a senior REGULATOR to take. (You arenât supposed to take sides & silence voices you donât like in a legitimate debate.) https://twitter.com/TwisterFilm/status/1339302559803117571?s=20
Some Labour Party members understanding of Article 10 & âdiscussion, criticism/ expressions of antipathy, dislike, ridicule, insult or abuse of particular religions/ beliefs/ practices of their adherents, of any belief systemâ appear severely limited. https://twitter.com/GeorgeAylett/status/1344041433301446664?s=20
Article 10 in full.
It would appear Cambridge University has struck the right balance. https://twitter.com/MsGiveZeroFox/status/1336736875923509249?s=20
The Scottish Police Federation also appear to realise the importance of Freedom of Expression: https://twitter.com/MsGiveZeroFox/status/1338546347595751428?s=20
As do our Senior Judiciary, who have repeatedly come down on the side of Freedom of Expression, when vexatious Twitter spats have ended up in their courts. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/12/17/exclusive-people-must-have-right-offend-without-facing-police/
As can be seen from the @Kate_Scottow80 appeal, where the court appointed Justice Warby, one of the most powerful media judges in the country and a leading expert on privacy law, to hear the case. https://twitter.com/MsGiveZeroFox/status/1343974278031699968?s=20
He found a âfundamental tensionâ btwn "most casesâ of harassment by speech that includes "alarming the person or causing the person distress" & Article 10 of Human Rights Act 1998 which expressly protects speech that âoffends, shocks & disturbsâ but still: https://twitter.com/MsGiveZeroFox/status/1343974424517730308?s=20
Itâs also worth looking at the Miller judgement to see how the Senior Judiciary view Freedom of Expression:
âIn this country we have never had a Cheka, a Gestapo or a Stasi. We have never lived in an Orwellian society.â
-Justice Julian Knowles https://twitter.com/MsGiveZeroFox/status/1338063316288237568?s=20
âIn this country we have never had a Cheka, a Gestapo or a Stasi. We have never lived in an Orwellian society.â
-Justice Julian Knowles https://twitter.com/MsGiveZeroFox/status/1338063316288237568?s=20
As @SVPhillimore notes, there is âan interesting tension develop now as to how the Law Commission wishes the law was, and how the High Court knows it to beâ https://twitter.com/AdamWagner1/status/1339182774989828099?s=20
Some people might also find Lord Huntâs distinctions between the person & the practice helpful when considering the limitations of freedom of speech: https://twitter.com/MsGiveZeroFox/status/1338080045575843840?s=20
In the end, the greatest âclarity required to ensure the law is understood and fairâ, may be to understand the differences between Tolerance & Respect: https://twitter.com/MsGiveZeroFox/status/1338580733598822405?s=20
Question: How has the situation changed in universities in the two years since the Committeeâs report on the issue?
Probably for the worse. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9021739/Open-University-student-silenced-support-JK-Rowling.html
Probably for the worse. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9021739/Open-University-student-silenced-support-JK-Rowling.html
Selina Todd has also written about the feeling restricted & subject to âcancel cultureâ, though Academics are supposedly protected by Education Reform Act 1988 "to ensure academic staff have freedom within the law to question & test received wisdom...â https://twitter.com/MsGiveZeroFox/status/1330289323938295808?s=20
Although Itâs not illegal (yet) to believe in biological reality, the amazing Kathleen Stock whoâs just been awarded an OBE, has also detailed some of the restrictions in Academia now https://twitter.com/BluskyeAllison/status/1344597099359440898?s=20
And kindly documented by herself here: https://twitter.com/Docstockk/status/1344206207482032130?s=20
She may delete her account, or Twitter may go on one of its #TwitterHatesWomen campaigns, so hereâs the blog itself: https://kathleenstock.com/highlights-of-trans-policies-in-uk-universities/
The price Academia is paying for Freedom of Expression when not in tune with current dogma, is really high:
Complaints, public shaming, losing publishing opportunities, being dropped from collaborations.
People are terrified of saying anything. https://twitter.com/anonacademic_uk/status/1344242066587607040?s=20
Complaints, public shaming, losing publishing opportunities, being dropped from collaborations.
People are terrified of saying anything. https://twitter.com/anonacademic_uk/status/1344242066587607040?s=20
See @8RosarioSanchez story. I have a soft spot for her 
. Maybe because years ago, I also left my country to attend university. Luckily, I slotted right in, but what if I was in Rosarioâs shoes, far away from home? I think Bristolâs treatment is abysmal. https://twitter.com/plebity/status/1344427620411334656?s=20
. Maybe because years ago, I also left my country to attend university. Luckily, I slotted right in, but what if I was in Rosarioâs shoes, far away from home? I think Bristolâs treatment is abysmal. https://twitter.com/plebity/status/1344427620411334656?s=20
And yet another fabulous thread in detail from the amazing @Docstockk, whoâs using her moment in the spotlight to shine a light on the shameful behaviour of academia when it comes to Freedom of Expression around legitimate areas of concern. https://twitter.com/Docstockk/status/1344525004973682689?s=20
, whoâs using her moment in the spotlight to shine a light on the shameful behaviour of academia when it comes to Freedom of Expression around legitimate areas of concern. https://twitter.com/Docstockk/status/1344525004973682689?s=20
Also from Maya Forstater . So I think we can safely say, in answer to Freedom of Expression Enquiry âhas the situation changed in universities in the two years since the Committeeâs report on the issue?â
Not for the Better. Get your answers in to them! https://twitter.com/MForstater/status/1344676769727733763?s=20
. So I think we can safely say, in answer to Freedom of Expression Enquiry âhas the situation changed in universities in the two years since the Committeeâs report on the issue?â Not for the Better. Get your answers in to them! https://twitter.com/MForstater/status/1344676769727733763?s=20
Letâs not forget @ProfAliceS.
Nancy Kelley from Stonewall had her âno-platformedâ I.e., barred from a discussion of how Britain conducts its census.
Kelley has no expertise in Census matters. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/stonewalls-new-boss-nancy-kelley-let-census-expert-be-no-platformed-ljsnw6v3r
Nancy Kelley from Stonewall had her âno-platformedâ I.e., barred from a discussion of how Britain conducts its census.
Kelley has no expertise in Census matters. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/stonewalls-new-boss-nancy-kelley-let-census-expert-be-no-platformed-ljsnw6v3r
Professor Sullivan, on the other hand is Director of 1 of the UKâs biggest social science projects, and was due to speak at a seminar alongside officials from the ONS, which is organising the 2021 census. We are shutting up experts in favour of letting ideological cranks in
So I guess answer to the final question in this Enquiry,
âDoes everyone have equal protection of their right to freedom of expression?â Is a big Fat No.
When misogynists openly call Women C*nts w/o sanction & yet Women are bullied, hounded from their jobs for biological reality
âDoes everyone have equal protection of their right to freedom of expression?â Is a big Fat No.
When misogynists openly call Women C*nts w/o sanction & yet Women are bullied, hounded from their jobs for biological reality
Let the Joint Committee on Human Rights know your views on this Orwellian farce. #WeWillBeHeard #ErasingWomen
Deadlineâs been extended to: 31 January 2021.
Happy New Year
! #WeMove https://committees.parliament.uk/work/778/freedom-of-expression/
Deadlineâs been extended to: 31 January 2021.
Happy New Year
! #WeMove https://committees.parliament.uk/work/778/freedom-of-expression/
Just some more Freedom of Speech Limitations.
This time from @Ofcom https://twitter.com/paullewismoney/status/1344913931148652544?s=20
This time from @Ofcom https://twitter.com/paullewismoney/status/1344913931148652544?s=20
âThe way universities have to approach this, like other difficult issues, is 2 defend academic freedom & uphold free speech, as long as it is within law.â
-Colin Riordan, vice-chancellor of Cardiff University
Universities are becoming bastions of bigotry https://twitter.com/anonacademic_uk/status/1344934863611322369?s=20
-Colin Riordan, vice-chancellor of Cardiff University
Universities are becoming bastions of bigotry https://twitter.com/anonacademic_uk/status/1344934863611322369?s=20
The only thing we should be intolerant of is intolerance itself.
We should have nipped this cancer in the bud, when they started their smearing attempt years ago. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/trans-goldsmiths-lecturer-natacha-kennedy-behind-smear-campaign-against-academics-f2zqbl222
We should have nipped this cancer in the bud, when they started their smearing attempt years ago. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/trans-goldsmiths-lecturer-natacha-kennedy-behind-smear-campaign-against-academics-f2zqbl222
More evidence of stifling freedom of speech in academia: https://twitter.com/anonacademic_uk/status/1346508635594227717?s=20
âThe role of publishers is to help society talk about the most difficult issues. But, with a few exceptions, they have become far too one-sided on far too many topics, arbiters not facilitators of debate. And thatâs not good for publishing or society.â https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/books/cancel-culture-authors-books-jk-rowling-b900277.html
Without freedom of speech, we wouldnât have had the Enlightenment Period, or the Industrial Revolution, or the prosperity the UK has today. https://twitter.com/DavidDavisMP/status/1351494840584986626?s=20
More freedom of speech limitations from Eton. Itâs actually frightening how pervasive this #chillingeffect and silencing culture is now: https://twitter.com/unherd/status/1352247243710062595?s=20
Question to be answered in Freedom of Expression inquiry, which ends this Sunday.
âIs greater clarity required to ensure the law is understood and fair? https://twitter.com/joannaccherry/status/1353991815301648384?s=20
âIs greater clarity required to ensure the law is understood and fair? https://twitter.com/joannaccherry/status/1353991815301648384?s=20
