Should I be boring and get all legal on yo' asses?
Yes? Good.
Well, I know very little about the US situation, but in England we have a myriad of legislative measures to curtail free speech. Probably the most important nowadays is Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights, incorporated into our law by way of the Human Rights Act 1998.
Article 10 states:
1. Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers. This article shall not prevent States from requiring the licensing of broadcasting, television or cinema enterprises.
2. The exercise of these freedoms, since it carries with it duties and responsibilities, may be subject to such formalities, conditions, restrictions or penalties as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society, in the interests of national security, territorial integrity or public safety, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, for the protection of the reputation or rights of others, for preventing the disclosure of information received in confidence, or for maintaining the authority and impartiality of the judiciary.
You'd be surprised at how widely that second paragraph is interpreted.
For what it's worth I think unconditional free speech is an idealistic and unworkable notion, but that's just me. Being right.
