BLACKWELL: The high price of Freedom of Speech in the Age of Social Media As a Canadian, you have the right to stay anything you want. Sort of.
There are a few legal exceptions to what is generally referred to as “free speech” or more correctly “Freedom of Expression” in Canada. But as a general rule, as long as you aren’t being a racist, or overtly obscene or hateful, you’re pretty much good to go. Let’r rip. Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms under Canada’s legislation “freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication.” The traditional “fine print” on your “free speech,” as enforced by the courts, were “obscenity and child pornography laws, hate propaganda laws, and the law of defamation..” The Supreme Court of Canada set these limitations on free speech to protect people from being abused by others. Not seriously hurting people seems like a reasonable compromise to our ability to express ourselves. The rise of the internet, and in particular social media platforms, has blown the doors off the ability to enforce most of these restrictio...