The limits of free speech were also intensely debated in the 1940s when the U.N. And after the end of pre-publication censorship in 1695, conservative authors worried that a “civil war started with ink may end in blood.” William Blackstone’s 18th-century Commentaries on the Laws of England argued that “to censure the licentiousness, is to maintain the liberty, of the press” since a man “may be allowed to keep poisons in his closet, but not publicly to vend them as cordials.” Following the English Civil War, an English historian blamed “the paper bullets of the press” for the bloodshed. It is hardly the first time in history that authorities feel threatened by the combination of loosening controls on communication technology and the democratization of the public sphere. According to Guterres, the debate generated a “flood of lies” and dehumanized migrants and refugees. Countries including the United States, Hungary, Austria, and Australia refused to sign the compact. The compact created fierce backlash in a number of democracies, where populist parties and movements warned it would result in increased migration and censorship despite its nonbinding nature. Guterres’s concern was fueled by the debate surrounding the global compact on migration adopted in December 2018. But Guterres’s diagnosis is dangerously superficial, and his cure may be worse than the disease. What exactly Guterres has in mind is yet unclear. As a result, he promised to present a “global plan of action on a fast-track basis” to counter hate speech. It spreads like wildfire through social media, the internet, and conspiracy theories.”Īccording to Guterres, hate speech has moved into the mainstream of both liberal democracies and authoritarian states and is being abetted by populist politicians and political parties previously deemed beyond the pale. Despite advances in poverty eradication and gender equality, and record numbers of countries abolishing the death penalty, Guterres warned that “the human rights agenda is losing ground.” Guterres specifically highlighted the danger of “xenophobia, racism, and intolerance-including rising anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim hatred.” He continued: “Hate speech is a menace to democratic values, social stability, and peace.

Secretary-General António Guterres gave what might be called a state of global human rights speech at the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Mchangama free speech