Episode 2.5: Hate Speech: The Case Against Censorship – Nadine Strossen

Interviewer: MATTHEW BERKMAN. As the political climate and the prevalence of social media have combined to raise the incidents and visibility of hateful speech, there have been growing calls to enact bans on such expression. NADINE STROSSEN, author of the new book, HATE: Why We Should Resist it With Free Speech, Not Censorship, argues against such policies as counterproductive and ultimately harmful. In her discussion with political scientist Matthew Berkman, she defends the line the First Amendment draws against dangerous speech and urges that social media companies adhere to international standards of free speech, even as she calls for resistance to hate speech and prosecutions of bias crimes. President of the American Civil Liberties Association (ACLU) from 1991 to 2008, she recounts the Supreme Court case that established the internet as we know it, as well as the legacy of Bush v. Gore and the role the ACLU might play in a contested election this year. Strossen recently spoke at the Mitchell Center's Campus Free Speech Conference.