IsabellaLinton wrote:
... and great minds shouldn't be censored.
This is the inherent contradiction of the debate.
Yes, freedom of speech can be essential to uphold democracy, reveal corruption, capture con artists etc. etc.
But at the same time freedom of speech can mean children, vulnerable adults and the elderly get bombarded by scams, lies, political propaganda, threats, insults, and footage of things like child abuse, rape, beastiality and necrophilia.
So some limits are inevitable. But then it becomes a battle of wills over what's acceptable and what isn't. Which much of the time hinges on personal values regarding "decency" but can also become a game of double bluff between the truth seekers and those with something to hide.
Hiding behind the law doesn't help because the same laws that protect us from the worst excesses of society can also hide genuine wrong-doing. And likewise laws designed to open up the corrupt to investigation can also cause problems for the innocent, and expose others to things they'd rather not see.
The OP seems to have a particular bee in his bonnet about this issue, and keeps bringing it up, but there's no clean resolution available here. I'd like to live in a much more open, honest but also accountable society. At the same time I don't want to be slandered, fall victim to crooks, have democracy hijacked by those seeking to deliberately derail it with lies and half truths, or have anyone exposed to snuff movies.
Censorship is a balancing act, always has been, always will be. It's normally hijacked by people who think their unique view of the world should be reflected in the information they're exposed to, but isn't that just as dangerous as being exposed to everything? The problem with all this is, when you're in the right then some rules make perfect sense, but when you're in the wrong they make things worse. But then everyone has a different idea of what's wrong and what's right, when we're talking about everyday issues like racism, sexism, corruption, misleading advertising, political bias and so forth.
You'd hope it woud be clearer cut with things like torture and sexual violence, but even here it seems to be difficult to reach consensus.