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Governments do have free speech rights. Those rights may be limited compared to the rights of private citizens, but they do exist.
by krapp 2y ago
Governments do have free speech rights. Those rights may be limited compared to the rights of private citizens, but they do exist.
- AlbertCory 2y agoThis is a blanket statement needing substantiation, but then, so was mine and I don't feel like doing research. Maybe some legal scholar will weigh in. I predict a case about this will reach the Supreme Court in the next few years.
- nine_k 2y agoDemocratic governments have privileges bestowed on them by their constituences. I don't remember where the US Constitution gives any branch of government "free speech" rights. It definitely has some protections for speech of officials in Congress and in courts. Authoritarian governments, of course, have all the rights they manage to grab. Look what Russian officials say. I suppose that North Korean officials can say anything their bosses tell them to say, any public opinion notwithstanding.
- AlbertCory 2y agoVery well put. People use the word "right" in sloppy ways, basically just "I like this." The government is protected for speech related to its duties, in clearly spelled out ways.
- krapp 2y ago>The government is protected for speech related to its duties, in clearly spelled out ways. ..which is a different claim than "governments have no free speech rights." They do, just limited in ways that individual free speech rights are not. But even individual free speech rights aren't absolute.
- AlbertCory 2y agoNo, krapp, you're wrong. "Rights" belong only to citizens. The fact that some government speech is protected does not mean the speaker has a "right." Language matters.