Slate News Amicus | Free Speech Is The Enemy of Free Speech, Apparently
Sep 20, 2025
Mary Anne Franks, a First Amendment and civil rights law professor at George Washington University, delves into the complexities of free speech in America. She highlights how free speech absolutism paradoxically undermines dissent, using recent cases like Charlie Kirk's to illustrate power's manipulation of free speech rhetoric. Franks also discusses the intertwining of technology, media, and governmental influence, exploring how these factors have muddled public discourse and led to a troubling erosion of First Amendment principles.
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Government Assault Disguised As Free Speech
- The Trump administration has unleashed the greatest assault on the First Amendment since the Red Scare while claiming to restore free speech.
- That rhetoric masks coercive government actions like surveillance, expulsions, and threats against critics.
Censorship Claims Used To Justify Coercion
- Accusations of a "censorship industrial complex" were weaponized to justify government crackdown on dissent.
- Portraying private actors as censorious creates a pretext for state coercion of platforms and institutions.
When Government Coerces Private Platforms
- Government pressure on private platforms (intermediary pressure) raises First Amendment issues when it coerces private decisions.
- The NRA v. Vullo precedent shows coercion of intermediaries can itself be unconstitutional.
