OPINION: We really need to talk about free speech

By now, we can all agree that Elon Musk girl-bossed a little too close to the sun when he bought Twitter. 

And while he plays a seriously amusing game of whack a mole with the users he vowed to set free, the real-world consequences are becoming apparent.

Within hours of the Musk takeover, hate speech on the platform increased.

It was reported that the pharmaceutical company, Eli Lilly’s stock price plummeted when a fake but verified account tweeted insulin was to become free. 

People have lost jobs, and those who stay at the company may well regret doing so. 

This brings up two things we need to talk about. 

The first is free speech, and the second is that online is real life. 

Because the free speech absolutist who thought social media was a toy is finding out there are a lot of very real people in the playground.  

FREE SPEECH

Freedom of speech or expression is a defined legal construct. And that means there are rules. 

You can find it in domestic and international law. It’s under article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. 

Broadly speaking, your freedom cannot infringe on another person’s rights.  So as well as rules, there are limits to what you can say freely. 

According to the UN, free speech has three exceptions: incitement to violence, hostility or hate, and discrimination. 

Everyone has the right to be treated equally, to live safely and access the best possible health and public services. 

You even have the right not to have your identity pathologised and autonomy over your own body, and if you criticise the government, you cannot be imprisoned for it. 

Those rights may, and rightly so, trump your right to say whatever you want. 

Most importantly, freedom of speech does not mean freedom from consequence. And while human rights are universal, experience of them is not. 

You have rights you will never have to think about, while others like LGBTQIA+ people, refugees and other minorities fight daily to have the same privilege. 

REALITY CHECK

This is real life, and what we say matters. Social media is just a tool; it doesn’t exist outside of reality. 

In August, Vice World News reported homophobic hate crime has doubled in the UK in the past five years, and transphobic crime tripled. 

Ireland is only now starting to record hate crimes consistently and introduce strong legislation against them.

But there is no doubt that online rhetoric contributes either as a cause, an indication of normalcy, or perhaps a horrible cycle of both. 

There is a lot of fake on social media, but behind the Instagram grid or paywall are people. Just because you can’t see the person doesn’t mean they aren’t there. 

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What we allow on our internet matters and, yes, should be regulated. 

You may not mourn Eily Lilly’s billions of lost dollars, and they will make it back, I’m sure. But lives and livelihoods are made online and can be lost with a click. 

Your keyboard has power. So, be careful how you use it. 

I always prefer to talk about systematic, global issues with a takeaway. So, here is the Tweet: 

You have a responsibility to use your rights for good. We have often seen people lose their rights because others felt they were entitled to do and say what they wanted.  

Don't let someone else's past become our future.