Count on Trump to defend free speech from global censorship

President Trump deserves enormous credit for his exceptional and unwavering commitment to free speech at the recent Group of Seven summit in France. Foreign leaders, like liberal activists in the United States, are chomping at the bit to introduce more online censorship.

At the meeting of the leading democracies, European leaders introduced a new measure that would draft technology companies into the role of government censors, forcing them to police online content and remove anything that bureaucrats deem to be insensitive. Emmanuel Macron struggled in vain to conceal his disappointment as he announced the United States had refused to sign on to his crackdown on online speech, which would have institutionalized the exact same kind of discriminatory treatment that American conservatives are fighting against here at home.

By refusing to sign on to the repressive accord, President Trump took a crucial stand in defense of one of the basic tenets of democracy. The traditional conception of free speech, that governments cannot prevent citizens from expressing their opinions or punish them for doing so, once reigned supreme across the Western world. From its roots in the Magna Carta, to its refinement in the works of John Locke, to its codification in the First Amendment of the Constitution, freedom of speech could be the greatest contribution Anglo Americans have made to human civilization.

In the aftermath of the totalitarian horrors of the 20th century, freedom of speech was embraced by all of the countries that now make up the G-7. It was even enshrined in the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. Unfortunately, freedom of speech has come under siege, especially in Europe, as governments seek to eradicate “hate” and “offensiveness” at the expense of the right of their own citizens to express themselves.

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