3 ms·
For Americans, I recommend reading about the actual free speech standard in the US (Brandenburg v. Ohio). While "Fire in a crowded theater" appears, it's in a c
by the_watcher 7y ago
For Americans, I recommend reading about the actual free speech standard in the US (Brandenburg v. Ohio). While "Fire in a crowded theater" appears, it's in a concurrence, and actually used to suggest that the standard created in the decision may even go too far.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandenburg_v._Ohio https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandenburg_v._Ohio
- iudqnolq 7y agoThe term comes from Schenk v. United States, and was used to argue that it wasn't unconstitutional to imprison a communist activist for printing and handing out flyers arguing that people shouldn't turn themselves in if they were to be drafted. From a modern perspective what Schenk did appears incredibly tame, and I believe nearly anyone using the phrase today would find the central holding of the case absurd; I don't think any reasonable person nowadays believes asking people not to cooperate with the government in wartime should be illegal. Brandenburg v. Ohio partially overturned Schenk, and while I agree reading about it is worthwhile unfortunately US law is sufficiently complicated that no one case exists that can be read to fully understand the current law around free speech in the US. I'd instead recommend the ACLU's position paper: https://www.aclu.org/other/freedom-expression-aclu-position-paper https://www.aclu.org/other/freedom-expression-aclu-position-... . Note that while they make a very good case for what the law is, not every court in the country would agree with them.