What’s the Truth about Free Speech in America

Hi Everyone and Welcome Back!

This week on The Nick Halaris Show we are featuring prominent legal scholar and free speech expert, Eugene Volokh. Eugene is a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, the author of The Volokh Conspiracy, a widely read legal blog, and a co-host of the Free Speech Unmuted Podcast. For thirty years, he has been a professor at the University of California – Los Angeles School of Law, where he has taught First Amendment law, copyright law, criminal law, tort law, and firearms regulation policy.

Ready to dive in? Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and YouTube or on your favorite podcast platform.

Free speech debates are all the rage today and I wanted to have Eugene on the show to lay some important groundwork for this often misunderstood topic. Constitutional free speech law is a complicated and most commentators online, especially the loudest voices, don’t have a clue. After decades of teaching and high-level legal scholarship, Eugene has a way of explaining very complex matters in digestible ways.

Tune in to this important episode to learn: 

• What public universities can and cannot do when it comes to limiting speech

• The difference between viewpoint and content-neutral restrictions

• The rare instances where free speech can actually be restricted

• The relationship between free speech law and state power over public school curricula  

• Why free speech is so critical to democratic governance

  &

• Much, much more

Stay tuned to the end to learn why Eugene thinks free speech absolutism is a misnomer and to understand how free speech law applies to the public products of social media companies.

As always, I hope you all enjoy this episode. Thanks for tuning in! 

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Summary

The conversation explores the current state of free speech on college campuses and the restrictions placed on student and faculty speech. It discusses the differences between the free speech movement of the 1960s and the current free speech debates. The conversation also delves into the constitutional law surrounding free speech in public and private universities, including the rights of students, invited speakers, and faculty. It touches on exceptions to free speech, such as true threats and solicitation of illegal conduct. The conversation concludes with a discussion on social media platforms and their ability to restrict speech. In this conversation, Eugene Volokh discusses the role of newspapers, magazines, parades, phone companies, shopping malls, and social media platforms in relation to free speech and viewpoint neutrality. He emphasizes that while the government has the power to regulate public school curriculum, public universities, and school libraries, the extent of that power is still unsettled in some cases. Volokh also addresses the concept of free speech absolutism and the protection of AI speech. He concludes by highlighting the historical basis for the First Amendment and its importance in democratic self-government.

Keywords

free speech, college campuses, restrictions, student speech, faculty speech, constitutional law, public universities, private universities, exceptions, social media platforms, newspapers, magazines, parades, phone companies, shopping malls, social media platforms, free speech, viewpoint neutrality, government regulation, public school curriculum, public universities, school libraries, free speech absolutism, AI speech, First Amendment, democratic self-government

Takeaways

• There are ongoing debates and controversies surrounding free speech on college campuses.

• Public universities cannot suppress student speech based on viewpoint, but can impose content-neutral restrictions.

• Private universities may voluntarily agree to abide by free speech rules similar to public universities.

• Faculty at public universities have broad rights to speak in public, but there are some limitations when it comes to curriculum control.

• Exceptions to free speech include true threats, solicitation of illegal conduct, and incitement to imminent illegal conduct.

• Social media platforms have the right to restrict speech as private corporate organizations. Newspapers and magazines play a role in protecting readers from falsehoods and conveying particular viewpoints.

• Parades, phone companies, and large shopping malls have the right to pick and choose what is included based on their own criteria.

• The government has broad power to regulate public school curriculum, but the extent of its power over school libraries and public universities is still unsettled.

• AI speech is protected under the First Amendment, but there are exceptions for defamation and false statements.

• The First Amendment was influenced by the English tradition of free speech and the need for public debate in democratic self-government.

Titles

• Exploring Exceptions to Free Speech

• The State of Free Speech on College Campuses The Protection and Exceptions of AI Speech

• The Historical Basis and Importance of the First Amendment

Sound Bites

• "Attempts to restrict speech on campuses based on offense or hostility have come from both the left and the right."

• "The law surrounding faculty control over curriculum and viewpoint expression is unsettled."

• "Exceptions to free speech include true threats, solicitation of illegal conduct, and incitement to imminent illegal conduct."

• "We trust our newspapers to protect us as readers from falsehood by publishing things that are true and not publishing things that are false."

• "A phone company can't cancel your phone line because it's a so-called common carrier. We've decided that that kind of platform has to be available without regard to ideology."

• "Large shopping malls as a private property owner can kick out whatever speakers it wants."

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and Background

08:46 The Constitutional Rights of Students, Faculty, and Invited Speakers

22:00 Exceptions to Free Speech: Understanding the Limits

33:10 The Debate over Speech Restrictions on Social Media Platforms

39:01 The Spectrum of First Amendment Protection

42:44 Exploring Free Speech Absolutism

45:40 The Role of AI Speech

01:00:53 State Control over School Curriculum

01:05:58 Unsettled Questions: School Libraries and Public Universities

01:08:29 The Historical Basis for the First Amendment