CEO Of HateAid, Josephine Ballon: 'Free Speech Needs Boundaries'

Posted • February 16, 2025: Vice President JD Vance did not hold back, lambasting European nations for their assault on the freedoms and liberties that have been the glue that’s kept the United States and Western Europe together. His points were simple: you cannot demand greater military assistance in defending democratic values if you lead the assault on those principles. The vice president also said that internal threats like this are more significant than the ones from Moscow. European leaders were reportedly aghast, but it’s not like we don’t know about the systemic censorship industrial complex that’s now systemic, even codified law in Europe. Law professor Jonathan Turley, who isn’t a conservative, described the speech as “glorious.” —— “Vance then pulled back the curtain on the censorship and anti-free-speech policies of the European Union and close allies ranging from the United Kingdom to Sweden.”

“He also chastised one of the most vehemently anti-free speech figures in Europe, Thierry Breton, who led the EU efforts to control speech with draconian measures under the infamous Digital Services Act. Vance called out the hypocrisy of these nations asking for greater and greater military assistance “in the name of our shared democratic values” even as they eviscerate free speech, the very right that once defined Western Civilization. The point was crushing. […] In my recent book, I discussed many of the examples cited by the vice president. One of the most telling came from Canada last year, when the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau temporarily blocked the citizenship of Russian dissident Maria Kartasheva. The reason was that she had a conviction (after a trial in absentia) in Russia for condemning the Ukrainian war. The Canadian government declared that Kartasheva’s conviction in Russia aligns with a Criminal Code offense relating to false information in Canada.”

“In other words, her use of free speech could be prosecuted in Canada under its abusive Section 372(1) of the Criminal Code, punishing speech deemed to be “convey[ing] false information with the intent to alarm or injure anyone.” Vance ran through just a fraction of the parade of horribles, from Britain arresting people for silent prayers near abortion clinics to Sweden prosecuting a religious protester who burned a Koran, with Judge Göran Lundahl insisting that freedom of expression does not constitute a “free pass to do or say anything.” Apparently, it does not include acts once called blasphemy or insulting religion. Vance also mocked the underlying premise for speech crackdowns to combat “disinformation,” pointing out that these measures constitute a far greater threat to citizens in the West than any external threat. He had the courage to say what has long been verboten on the restriction of speech to combat foreign influence:”

“if your democracy can be destroyed with a few hundred thousand dollars of digital advertising from a foreign country, then it wasn’t very strong to begin with.” […] He [Vance] was called a “wrecking ball” for bringing up the anti-free speech movement that has swept over Europe. One German official declared “This is all so insane and worrying.” This is a diplomat from a nation that shredded free speech for decades, to the point of arresting people over their ringtones. […] Of course, our own anti-free speech voices were in attendance, too. Politico quoted one “former House Democratic staffer” who bravely attacked Vance anonymously: “I was aghast … He was blaming the victim. What the f— was that? I had my mouth open in a room full of people with their mouth open. That was bad.” No, it was not bad. It was glorious.” —— It was the punch to the face these smug European leaders needed, along with their allies here who want to import this Eurotrash system of censorship with legal muscle. It even caused some German leaders to cry—no, I’m not kidding.

Quite a bookend to CBS News’ day on this subject: “Free speech needs boundaries… Without boundaries, a very small group of people can rely on endless freedom to say anything that they want, while everyone else is scared and intimidated,” says Josephine Ballon, CEO of HateAid. (…)

• More at: Townhall - So, JD Vance Made a German Politician Cry. Here's What Happened.
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2025/02/17/some-german-soy-boy-cried-because-jd-vance-trashed-his-countrys-appalling-record-on-free-speech-n2652327
CBS News: Posting hateful speech online could lead to police raiding your home in this European country
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/policing-speech-online-germany-60-minutes-transcript/
Rumble: JD Vance's Support Of Free Speech Made A German Politician Cry
https://rumble.com/v6lstdj-jd-vances-support-of-free-speech-made-a-german-politician-cry.html
Rumble: German Police Raid Home, Seizing Suspect's Laptop & Phone…The Crime? Posting A Racist Cartoon Online
https://rumble.com/v6lsw81-german-police-raid-home-seizing-suspects-laptop-and-phonethe-crime-posting-.html
RedState: '60 Minutes' Airs an All-Timer, and the Depths They Sink to Will Blow Your Mind
https://redstate.com/bonchie/2025/02/17/60-minutes-airs-an-all-timer-and-the-depths-they-sink-to-will-blow-your-mind-n2185669
Townhall: Not Many Americans Are Going to Tolerate What These Federal Workers Had to Say Last Night
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2025/02/17/cbs-drops-a-most-tone-deaf-segment-about-government-workers-n2652320