I’m sure that telling students they’re not allowed to boycott or protest a particular speaker is going to be very successful.
Efficient_Morning_11 on
This is what your tuition fees are paying for, while you watch a teams call recording from lockdown
HMWYA on
It’s insane how much the legal system and government processes are being used to defend and protect the views of anti-trans bigoted ideologues in this country. The idea that every subject should be viable for debate is actually damaging for freedom of speech. For example, “the trans debate”. The moment you tell a minority group that their existence, and how they’re allowed to exist within society, is up for debate, is the moment you silence that group and remove their freedoms. This sort of policy doesn’t protect free speech, it just forces the silence of victims of bigotry.
Deadliftdeadlife on
Protecting free speech is important, even the stuff you don’t agree with
We already have laws that step in when free speech turns into hate crimes or calls for violence
I don’t see how you can oppose this as an idea.
I can understand you think it might be done poorly, but I genuinely can’t think of a point against protecting free speech
NoSwordfish1978 on
I don’t really disagree with this but “free speech” is the least of the issues with our universities.
Charlie_Mouse on
I can’t help but suspect this system is going to be completely abused by the usual suspects on the far right, anti-trans bigots, anti-vaccination loons, religious fundamentalists, creationists, anti abortion campaigners and their ilk.
Even if they lose every complaint it will still be used to generate victim narrative news and social media stories to whip up their supporters and propagandise to and recruit the unwary. A lot of these won’t even be aimed at the U.K. but towards MAGA types in the U.S. – and they’ll fund even more spurious complaints that will cost money to investigate, make life difficult for U.K. universities and create the situation where everyone has to walk on eggshells around the most deranged, ignorant and insane morons out there.
trevpr1 on
There is no such thing as free speech. It is a myth.
Valcenia on
> This raises the possibility of fines significantly higher than the £585,000 issued to the University of Sussex in March 2025 – mainly over **a transgender and non-binary inclusion policy which the regulator said had a “chilling effect” on freedom of speech**.
> In 2024, Prof Jo Phoenix won an unfair dismissal case against the Open University **over a failure to defend her gender-critical views**.
> Earlier this year, the leading music conservatoire Trinity Laban reached an out-of-court settlement with the jazz musician Martin Speake, **after he criticised Black Lives Matter and critical race theory**.
Right so what this boils down to is just giving an allowance for blatant transphobia and hate speech to be freely tolerated on campus’, huh. Not surprising for this gross island and this vile government that’ll happily acquiesce to any and all bigots. Really glad we’re at a point where policy put in place to ensure a prejudiced minority group are included in conversations is now being considered as having a “chilling effect” on free speech. Just beyond disgusting. God forbid you think it’s beyond the pale that the university you’re attending allow speakers that argue against your existence. Seems that’s apparently not hate speech nowadays!
JackStrawWitchita on
So the UK government is basically doubling down on forcing universities to protect free speech: even if that means letting genuinely awful or radical views get a platform. They’re talking about fining unis that shut down controversial speakers, which sounds fine in theory, but here’s where Popper’s Paradox of Tolerance comes in: if you tolerate absolutely everyone, including the intolerant, the intolerant people will eventually *use that openness to destroy tolerance altogether.*
So on one hand, you’ve got students and staff who might feel genuinely unsafe if someone spewing hate speech gets invited to campus. On the other hand, the government’s argument is that unis have become too quick to silence unpopular or radical ideas just because they’re uncomfortable.
For ordinary people outside of uni, it feels like a mess. You start wondering: where’s the line? If a speaker says something that pushes the boundaries of the law they can still be prosecuted. But if they’re just being a bigot or a radical ideologue within the law? Apparently, that’s now protected, and universities have to eat the fine if they try to block it. So yeah, this might mean more extreme voices getting a megaphone, but it also stops unis from playing thought police. Either way, regular people are just watching from the sidelines, waiting to see whether this actually protects open debate or just gives hate a nicer suit to wear.
MohawkRex on
Transphobes once again leaving the door open for blatant misogynists, fascists and conspiracy theorists to spout their nonsense in public. When American think-tanks start spamming these campus’ with anti-abortion rhetoric they’ll have no one to blame but themselves.
TheMarksmanHedgehog on
This government doesn’t give two hoots about free speech, this is just going to be used to let the most vile, repulsive voices in to a room they were previously rightly locked out of.
Tolerance is a social contract, violators of that social contract do not get to have a seat at the table.
fujoshimoder on
Of course the BBC is fear mongering about foreign influence while also uncritically quoting Free Speech Union. A far-right organisation filled with eugenicists, race scientists and gender criticals with [funding links to both Peter Thiel and Viktor Orban’s think tank “Matheus Corvinus Collegium.”](https://bylinetimes.com/2026/04/14/exposed-how-viktor-orban-bankrolled-the-network-around-reform-uk/) I guess neither they nor the government care about THAT kind of foreign influence.
Even the examples pointed to in the article are typical far-right culture warrior bullshit like people being ‘silenced” for criticising “Critical Race Theory,” like c’mon what the fuck are we even doing here? Why is the BBC marching in lockstep with conservative culture war bullshit?
Originzzzzzzz on
The greatest enemy of any democracy is the people it relies on
Ochib on
New way to make money.
Set yourself up a a far right speaker, someone whose view is that 1940’s Germany didn’t go far enough etc
Get booked in a a speaker at a university and when the protest happens, as the university for £10k and if you don’t get paid you will complain and they will loose funding
appletinicyclone on
This seems like a pointless thing that’s designed to just harass societies
The people pushing for this will be the same type of people that can’t stand women-only spaces and insist they wish there was male only spaces
HMWYA on
We probably do need further discussion of the fact that, when the government forces a private institution, such as a university, to platform a specific speaker voicing specific ideologies, through threat of a fine, that no longer constitutes free speech. That is compelled speech.
Hollywood-is-DOA on
Let’s stop people wearing masks at protests and make it illegal but the government will never do that, they could but for some reason, choose not to.
The behaviour of people, would soon change at protests if a “ no mask order, at protests” was put in place by the police and government.
apple_kicks on
Holocaust deniers are going to have a field day. Theyve been pushing for this sort of thing for years
Odd-Law-8723 on
This feels like a system designed to be weaponized by bad faith actors, creating a chilling effect while generating endless grievance content.
TedGetsSnickelfritz on
Good. Don’t like what they have to say, then don’t listen. Nothing was ever solved by bury your head in the sand.
TheWorldIsGoingMad on
I think it is a ironic indictment of modern society that universities (where in the 60s students rebelled against authoritarianism) are now authoritarian bastions cancelling people and censoring speech they disagree with.
evenifihateit on
This sub is very much a “free speech for me but not for thee” sort of place eh
Boomshrooom on
So this is just a complaints system? As long as the law is applied properly then this is a nothing burger, it just provides recourse when academics feel their freedom of speech is being suppressed.
23 commenti
I’m sure that telling students they’re not allowed to boycott or protest a particular speaker is going to be very successful.
This is what your tuition fees are paying for, while you watch a teams call recording from lockdown
It’s insane how much the legal system and government processes are being used to defend and protect the views of anti-trans bigoted ideologues in this country. The idea that every subject should be viable for debate is actually damaging for freedom of speech. For example, “the trans debate”. The moment you tell a minority group that their existence, and how they’re allowed to exist within society, is up for debate, is the moment you silence that group and remove their freedoms. This sort of policy doesn’t protect free speech, it just forces the silence of victims of bigotry.
Protecting free speech is important, even the stuff you don’t agree with
We already have laws that step in when free speech turns into hate crimes or calls for violence
I don’t see how you can oppose this as an idea.
I can understand you think it might be done poorly, but I genuinely can’t think of a point against protecting free speech
I don’t really disagree with this but “free speech” is the least of the issues with our universities.
I can’t help but suspect this system is going to be completely abused by the usual suspects on the far right, anti-trans bigots, anti-vaccination loons, religious fundamentalists, creationists, anti abortion campaigners and their ilk.
Even if they lose every complaint it will still be used to generate victim narrative news and social media stories to whip up their supporters and propagandise to and recruit the unwary. A lot of these won’t even be aimed at the U.K. but towards MAGA types in the U.S. – and they’ll fund even more spurious complaints that will cost money to investigate, make life difficult for U.K. universities and create the situation where everyone has to walk on eggshells around the most deranged, ignorant and insane morons out there.
There is no such thing as free speech. It is a myth.
> This raises the possibility of fines significantly higher than the £585,000 issued to the University of Sussex in March 2025 – mainly over **a transgender and non-binary inclusion policy which the regulator said had a “chilling effect” on freedom of speech**.
> In 2024, Prof Jo Phoenix won an unfair dismissal case against the Open University **over a failure to defend her gender-critical views**.
> Earlier this year, the leading music conservatoire Trinity Laban reached an out-of-court settlement with the jazz musician Martin Speake, **after he criticised Black Lives Matter and critical race theory**.
Right so what this boils down to is just giving an allowance for blatant transphobia and hate speech to be freely tolerated on campus’, huh. Not surprising for this gross island and this vile government that’ll happily acquiesce to any and all bigots. Really glad we’re at a point where policy put in place to ensure a prejudiced minority group are included in conversations is now being considered as having a “chilling effect” on free speech. Just beyond disgusting. God forbid you think it’s beyond the pale that the university you’re attending allow speakers that argue against your existence. Seems that’s apparently not hate speech nowadays!
So the UK government is basically doubling down on forcing universities to protect free speech: even if that means letting genuinely awful or radical views get a platform. They’re talking about fining unis that shut down controversial speakers, which sounds fine in theory, but here’s where Popper’s Paradox of Tolerance comes in: if you tolerate absolutely everyone, including the intolerant, the intolerant people will eventually *use that openness to destroy tolerance altogether.*
So on one hand, you’ve got students and staff who might feel genuinely unsafe if someone spewing hate speech gets invited to campus. On the other hand, the government’s argument is that unis have become too quick to silence unpopular or radical ideas just because they’re uncomfortable.
For ordinary people outside of uni, it feels like a mess. You start wondering: where’s the line? If a speaker says something that pushes the boundaries of the law they can still be prosecuted. But if they’re just being a bigot or a radical ideologue within the law? Apparently, that’s now protected, and universities have to eat the fine if they try to block it. So yeah, this might mean more extreme voices getting a megaphone, but it also stops unis from playing thought police. Either way, regular people are just watching from the sidelines, waiting to see whether this actually protects open debate or just gives hate a nicer suit to wear.
Transphobes once again leaving the door open for blatant misogynists, fascists and conspiracy theorists to spout their nonsense in public. When American think-tanks start spamming these campus’ with anti-abortion rhetoric they’ll have no one to blame but themselves.
This government doesn’t give two hoots about free speech, this is just going to be used to let the most vile, repulsive voices in to a room they were previously rightly locked out of.
Tolerance is a social contract, violators of that social contract do not get to have a seat at the table.
Of course the BBC is fear mongering about foreign influence while also uncritically quoting Free Speech Union. A far-right organisation filled with eugenicists, race scientists and gender criticals with [funding links to both Peter Thiel and Viktor Orban’s think tank “Matheus Corvinus Collegium.”](https://bylinetimes.com/2026/04/14/exposed-how-viktor-orban-bankrolled-the-network-around-reform-uk/) I guess neither they nor the government care about THAT kind of foreign influence.
Even the examples pointed to in the article are typical far-right culture warrior bullshit like people being ‘silenced” for criticising “Critical Race Theory,” like c’mon what the fuck are we even doing here? Why is the BBC marching in lockstep with conservative culture war bullshit?
The greatest enemy of any democracy is the people it relies on
New way to make money.
Set yourself up a a far right speaker, someone whose view is that 1940’s Germany didn’t go far enough etc
Get booked in a a speaker at a university and when the protest happens, as the university for £10k and if you don’t get paid you will complain and they will loose funding
This seems like a pointless thing that’s designed to just harass societies
The people pushing for this will be the same type of people that can’t stand women-only spaces and insist they wish there was male only spaces
We probably do need further discussion of the fact that, when the government forces a private institution, such as a university, to platform a specific speaker voicing specific ideologies, through threat of a fine, that no longer constitutes free speech. That is compelled speech.
Let’s stop people wearing masks at protests and make it illegal but the government will never do that, they could but for some reason, choose not to.
The behaviour of people, would soon change at protests if a “ no mask order, at protests” was put in place by the police and government.
Holocaust deniers are going to have a field day. Theyve been pushing for this sort of thing for years
This feels like a system designed to be weaponized by bad faith actors, creating a chilling effect while generating endless grievance content.
Good. Don’t like what they have to say, then don’t listen. Nothing was ever solved by bury your head in the sand.
I think it is a ironic indictment of modern society that universities (where in the 60s students rebelled against authoritarianism) are now authoritarian bastions cancelling people and censoring speech they disagree with.
This sub is very much a “free speech for me but not for thee” sort of place eh
So this is just a complaints system? As long as the law is applied properly then this is a nothing burger, it just provides recourse when academics feel their freedom of speech is being suppressed.