From Brandenburg to Britain: Rethinking Free Speech in the Digital Era with Eric Heinze | Eugene Volokh and Jane Bambauer | Hoover Institution

Eugene Volokh and Jane Bambauer speak with Eric Heinze, professor of law and humanities at Queen Mary University of London, about how the digital age has transformed the meaning and limits of free expression. The discussion ranges from Britain’s recent Lucy Connolly case—involving online incitement and hate speech—to the philosophical and legal contrasts between the American Brandenburg standard and the U.K.’s more interventionist approach. Heinze argues that democracies must rethink free speech in an era dominated by opaque, powerful platforms like Twitter and Facebook, where risk, harm, and accountability are far harder to define. They debate whether governments—or tech companies—should bear responsibility for regulating speech online, and what “freedom” really means when algorithms, not citizens, shape public discourse. Subscribe for the latest on free speech, censorship, social media, AI, and the evolving role of the First Amendment in today’s proverbial town square.