Freedom of speech is one of the most basic and important human rights. Freedom of speech allows us to criticize governments and the powerful, without being afraid we’ll be thrown in jail. Freedom of speech allows for artistic expression, for organising, and for engaging in meaningful debate.
But what happens when freedom of speech is used to absolve us from other crimes? Is it free speech to be able to share pictures of children in a sexual context? Is it free speech to share intimate photographs of people who have not consented to the use of their images? Is it free speech to encourage others to be hateful of a particular race of person? Is it free speech to make rape and death threats? To bully and frighten people that you may not like or agree with?
Reddit is one of the most popular spaces of the internet. It is the self-titled ‘front page’ of the online world and attracts around 164 million readers every month. Both my boyfriend and my sister use it, mainly to look at videos of cats and read news before it breaks even on the BBC. The majority of those who use Reddit don’t feel the need to turn it into a space where hate speech is normalized, but in such a huge, diverse community, there are unfortunately those who cannot behave with basic decency.
