Jameel Jaffer — Reframing the Debate on Free Speech
Jameel Jaffer — Reframing the Debate on Free Speech
The First Amendment protects what Americans view as fundamental human rights—the freedom to believe and express different ideas—from exercising religious choices to freedoms of speech, press, petitions, and peaceful assembly. Jameel Jaffer reminds us that freedom of speech is at the core of the national debate on privacy and government surveillance. We live in a world where we exchange personal data on a daily basis. But the limits and rules on who accesses and disseminates this information are largely undefined. This economy of information raises an even greater question: How can individuals explore information, think independently and creatively, and express their ideas if they feel they are being monitored? Are government-accessible Google searches limiting the individual rights of many, eventually leading to an unknown aggregate effect on society?