Power describes the abilities and consequences of speech - e.g. the government official saying no surveillance was done; the ethnic minority painted as a "dange

Power describes the abilities and consequences of speech - e.g. the government official saying no surveillance was done; the ethnic minority painted as a "dangerous thug" by the news media. Free speech laws exist so that a powerful force can't turn enemies into criminals. They don't act as a "get of jail free" when power is exercised; that is a different kind of debate, but free speech arguments tend appear primarily when power is being challenged.