I appreciate this column. It's worth adding, perhaps, that free-speech absolutism is un-American. The U.S. Supreme Court has long recognized limits on free speech. These include incitement to unlawful activity, defamation, and fraud, all of which are perpetrated daily on social media platforms such as X (or Twitter, as it continues to be known). Congress has also legislated limits, including limitations on corporate speech, such as the false claims of tobacco companies, and conversely mandating speech, such as the health warnings required on tobacco products. In short, American society has flourished with the kinds of limits you are calling for -- which already exist in the law but are trampled by the stampede of new and largely unregulated technologies.
I appreciate this column. It's worth adding, perhaps, that free-speech absolutism is un-American. The U.S. Supreme Court has long recognized limits on free speech. These include incitement to unlawful activity, defamation, and fraud, all of which are perpetrated daily on social media platforms such as X (or Twitter, as it continues to be known). Congress has also legislated limits, including limitations on corporate speech, such as the false claims of tobacco companies, and conversely mandating speech, such as the health warnings required on tobacco products. In short, American society has flourished with the kinds of limits you are calling for -- which already exist in the law but are trampled by the stampede of new and largely unregulated technologies.