Americans agree that democracy requires freedom of speech. But a large minority also thinks it’s acceptable to bar certain subjects or speakers from public debate.
I would be curious to know how these views change when we break things down further to differentiate between government action vs private action, actively banning things vs passively choosing not to support things, and categorical exceptions to free speech like slander or incitement.
I suspect that some of the people responding would change their answers depending on exactly who is restricting speech, how they are doing it and what their justification is.
I would be curious to know how these views change when we break things down further to differentiate between government action vs private action, actively banning things vs passively choosing not to support things, and categorical exceptions to free speech like slander or incitement.
I suspect that some of the people responding would change their answers depending on exactly who is restricting speech, how they are doing it and what their justification is.