New online resource guide to speech

The Haas Institute has just published an online resource guide that features research, analysis, and perspectives on a wide range of issues related to freedom of speech.

The guide includes summaries of articles, legal briefs, and interviews from experts and observers, as well as audio recordings from our director john powell, and a student organizer who reports on the perspectives of her cohorts regarding the appearances of extreme-right speakers on campus.

It also reasserts the position of the Haas Institute in welcoming debate on various issues, but urges consideration regarding the effects of hate speech on groups being targeted and attacked by the far-right.

In a new audio interview conducted for the purpose of this resource guide, powell identifies several specific cases in which hate speech had severe consequences for those who were targeted, and urges that protections for that type of speech be dropped.



As the law is currently interpreted by the Supreme Court, the First Amendment protects hate speech despite the harm it causes, and without consideration of the attacks on the victim's personal autonomy. Our resource guide includes a comparative analysis of how other Western democracies like Canada and Germany have adopted much higher legal standards over what constitutes free speech to protect the dignity and well-being of targeted groups.

We will continue to update this guide with relevant resources with the hope of expanding our conversations and discourse surrounding speech, while ensuring a safe and inclusive world for all.

Check out the resource guide here.