In recent years, the internet has become the focus of debates about free speech, and the issue is rapidly coming to a head.

The internet provides a platform to bring people closer together and to empower individuals by enabling new voices to be heard and sparking the formation of new communities and new movements. But some of these communities are rife with hatred and bullying, and there are worries that social media is coarsening our political discourse. Many people think that social media outlets have too much power over how we speak and interact on the internet and that more government oversight is needed.

Where does this leave the idea of free speech? What sorts of speech should be permitted and prohibited online? And who should decide?

This lecture was hosted by the Young Conservatives of Texas, the UT Center for Enterprise and Policy Analytics, the Ayn Rand Institute, and Horns for Liberty on January 23, 2019 at University of Texas, Austin in Austin, TX.

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