“Free speech is not an absolute human right, it has to be balance with other human rights.”
-Helle Thorning Schmidt
#freespeechmatters 19.07.2021
Just because a member of Facebook’s oversight board claims that our human right to free speech is not an “absolute” right, doesn’t mean she knows what she’s talking about. Former Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning Schmidt argued that free speech is a right that must be balanced with other human rights while at a Politico Europe event.
The board, which was set up just a year ago, is made up of 20 members who will make corporate decisions without corporate executives suffering any of the political blowback. Essentially, they make decisions regarding your rights with very little accountability. It’s similar to having a dictator: big tech giants assumed their own power and are making decisions regarding your rights without hearing what you have to say about it.
The people who have demanded the preservation of democracy continue to applaud to this day when someone is removed for their politically charged content. Censorship hinders our ability to participate in democracy because it restricts what facts, theories, and ideas you may consider before choosing who will represent you. They want you to make uneducated decisions at the ballot box. That’s why the simplified your options to either Democrat or Republican when there are more than two schools of thought to choose from.
You don’t have to respect free speech. In fact, I don’t believe there’s any convincing you that the principles of free speech are fundamental to a fully functioning democracy. You’ve already decided that ‘misinformation’ is more dangerous than sacrificing your human rights for a pseudo sense of security. You’ve read all the books that suggest speech directly leads to violence, and you came to your own conclusion that we must put an end to free speech if we want to end the violence.
Fine. While none of what you believe may be true, I respect your right to say it. You’ve come to conclusions based on your own personal experience and the media you interact with, and you should choose to live your life the best way you see fit. If someone is exercising too much free speech on Facebook, there is a block option. You can remove friends, unfollow them, and go about your day without ever demanding their silence. You, however, are too precious to go a day without making everything about you. You demand that everyone lives their lives just like you. You curse the concept of the individual, label everyone into categories, and strip us from what makes us unique. This is not progress; this torture is tyranny.
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