The John Smith Centre was joined by the University of Glasgow’s Professor Adam Tomkins to discuss his new book on free speech: “On the Law of Speaking Freely”.
The debate over free speech has become a battleground in our modern-day culture war. Should we be able to say whatever we want, no matter how offensive? Should some words be banned? How has social media – and its potential to polarize us ever more – changed the debate on how we should interact with each other?
Professor Adam Tomkins, John Millar Chair of Public Law, has written a new book on free speech, On the Law of Speaking Freely, which examines these and many more questions. He joined us and a room full of students and academics for this free event at the University of Glasgow. We talked through current flashpoints around hate speech and offensive speech, and set out the principles that can help guide us through the minefield.