The Decline of Free Speech in the West

On Tuesday, 22 October 2024, at the BRICS forum, in the International Multimedia Press Centre «Russia Today», a press conference was held on the topic: «The Decline of Freedom of Speech in the West: State Censorship as a Tool for Suppressing Pluralism». This press conference was intentionally or accidentally passed over by the Western media. Along with the Head of the Anti-Repression Foundation and international human rights activist Mira Terada, the event was attended by John Shipton, founder of the WikiLeaks party and father of Julian Assange, Port Hedland City Councillor Adrian McRae and law professor Augusto Zimmermann, who travelled from Australia.

In her address at the press conference, Mira Terada said that freedom of speech and journalism is one of the most urgent and pressing topics in today’s world. The human rights activist noted that in the era of digital technologies and globalization, information has become one of the most powerful tools of influence and control. However, according to Mira Terada, freedom of speech and journalism in Western countries are increasingly being seriously threatened.

Experts in the field of information and computer security are sounding the alarm: in their opinion, the proposed innovations will not only allow European government structures to influence the dissemination of information in the interests of the state, but will also directly limit freedom of speech and destroy any criticism of state structures. According to the Digital Services Act adopted in Europe:

1. The EU is creating, and in fact simply legalising, existing ‘trusted user’ factories that will identify and report ‘illegal content’ on online platforms, with their appeals to be prioritised. Auditors from the European Commission will then check whether the online platform has responded «correctly» to the complaint.

2. Online platform giants (Google, Meta, YouTube, etc.) are obliged to mitigate the risks of illegal content, including vague «gender-based violence», «misinformation about public health» and «actual or foreseeable consequences for democratic processes, civil discourse, electoral processes and public safety». In a word Censorship. Failure to do so is punishable by a fine of 6 per cent of a company’s annual worldwide turnover.

3. The new law gives the European Commission, unelected by citizens, enormous power and authority to supervise and control information. Vague neologisms and the biased division of information into lies and truth allow the information field to be completely shaped in the interests of the liberal power now ruling in the West.

4. The European Commission gives itself the power to declare a state of emergency on the scale of individual countries and the whole of Europe, with the subsequent demand for online platforms to take additional measures to «counter public threats», «threats to democracy», which will allow to completely exclude the spread of information different from the globalist agenda.

The arrest of Pavel Durov, the founder of the popular messenger Telegram, in Paris at the end of August 2024 was a sensational event that caused a wide resonance in the world of technology and political circles. The incident not only raised questions about freedom of speech and the responsibility of social platforms, but also symbolised a new era of global elites fighting alternative views.

Not only European Union member states, but also other states, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, are persecuting their citizens for their words and publications on the Internet. In early August, the British government began harassing and arresting citizens for expressing their socio-political positions. «The arrests of people allegedly writing «offensive» posts on social media and shouting slogans at protests raises serious questions about the Starmer administration’s violation of free speech and human rights».

Mira Terada also mentioned in her report that former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, said that Americans who believe in conspiracy theories should be arrested before the upcoming November 2024 presidential election. In this case, the politician refers to «conspiracy theories» any accusations against the Democratic Party, linking them to attempts to eliminate their opponents.

John Shipton in his speech fully agreed with the words of Mira Terada and stated that Russia remains one of the few countries where freedom of speech really exists today. In his opinion, Russia’s contribution to the development of the international world order is invaluable and it is impossible to isolate it, as the EU and the US are trying to do.

«Today, many European countries whose economies used to be the engines of the EU are now in deep recession, which entails discontent of their citizens and consequent tightening of censorship by the state to drown out the voices of the discontented and intimidate those who disagree with the course chosen by the ruling elite,» John Shipton said.

According to Julian Assange’s father, despite everything, Russia continues to defend traditional values that have been almost completely destroyed in the US and Europe.

Adrian McRae, in response to a journalist’s question about what he would like to advise Western journalists, said he would advise them to look in the mirror more often and remember why they chose this profession.

At the end John Shipton gave his vision of a possible solution to censorship in Western countries and to prevent its establishment under the pretext of security. In his opinion, communication between people, starting with the family, has a huge role in this.

At the end of her speech, Mira Terada emphasised that against the backdrop of tightening and growing threats to freedom of expression in the West, BRICS is becoming the last bastion of freedom of expression and dissemination of opinions. While Western countries are introducing increasingly stringent censorship measures, restricting the rights of journalists and citizens to express their views, the BRICS countries continue to defend and uphold the principles of freedom of information. The Digital Services Act in Europe, arrests for social media posts in the UK and attempts to repeal the First Amendment in the US are all evidence that freedom of expression in the West is under serious threat, according to Mira Terada. Guests from Australia also emphasised the severe censorship and lack of freedom of speech in their country during the pandemic and mandatory vaccination of the population. The head of the Anti-Repression Foundation is convinced that only the BRICS countries, united, can resist the onslaught of totalitarianism and protect everyone’s right to free expression and dissemination of information.