Exploring the Dark Side of Freedom of Speech

When I first started the ArmaniTalks account, I used to curse a lot.

Once, a guy expressed disappointment in me after hearing me drop the F-bomb.

I told him that he could unfollow me if he didn’t like what I said.

This was America—where you could say whatever you wanted.

But my perception flipped one day when a father told me that he watched my YouTube channel with his little son.

The kid was five years old.

After I heard that, I felt bad about dropping F-bombs, so I decided to polish up my language.

I polished it up because of my own will—not because I was forced to.

I believe being able to say whatever you want is a powerful right.

However, it can easily be misused.

Freedom of Speech is Like Electricity

Have you ever heard people say that freedom of speech is the bedrock of any democracy?

I believe in that.

It’s the same power that electricity has.

Electricity is also the bedrock of any society.

Without it, you don’t have digital tools, machines, and you can’t even distribute freedom of speech.

But even though electricity is powerful, it needs to be monitored to a certain degree.

That’s called insulation.

If you have electrical conductors flowing without the plastic encasing outside of them, then you’ll have dead bodies all over.

Untamed electricity is not a powerful tool—it’s a dangerous one.

Likewise, freedom of speech without any rules is not a powerful tool—it’s a dangerous tool.

I could dox someone later today and say, “Well, I’m allowed to say anything that I want.”

Let’s say a mob shows up in front of the house of the guy I just doxed.

The mob breaks into his house and kills him.

My words led to someone’s death.

I have blood on my hands.

Freedom of speech without any rules is like electrical wires without plastic encasing.

What Type of Rules Should We Create?

Creating rules is tricky because one person’s threat is another person’s joke.

It’s hard to get clear on what rules will preserve society versus what will deteriorate it.

I have an idea.

I believe the rules for freedom of speech should limit anything that can cause someone bodily harm.

Not hurt feelings, but actual bodily harm.

Let me explain.

Imagine that I’m a YouTuber who discusses personal finance.

One day, a YouTuber creates a hit piece on me.

He hurts my reputation.

Now, I want to hurt him.

I have a ton of resources to make that happen.

I decide to dox him and his daughter’s location.

With my rules, is this the correct thing to do?

No.

It’s because I can potentially cause him and his daughter bodily harm.

If anyone shows up to his house, it could lead to a dangerous situation.

In this situation, my freedom of speech needs to be monitored.

What if I make a hit piece on his daughter’s dancing?

Not the guy who exposed me, but his daughter—an innocent bystander.

Should my freedom of speech be limited?

In my world, unfortunately, no.

Even though I’m hurting his feelings by attacking his daughter and not him, I’m not causing her bodily harm or opening up the possibility for that.

I’m just making fun of her dancing.

I think the problem with the rules on freedom of speech is that a lot of these rules factor in other people’s feelings.

When you factor in other people’s feelings too much, it causes messiness.

Soon, too much subjectivity is involved.

I believe we need to keep rules in mind to see if speech is leading to potential bodily harm.

Then, things will become more simplified.

Thinking the Bodily Harm Rules Through…

Let’s say I create a video where I’m straight-up lying about someone’s business.

My video ends up ruining this business owner’s livelihood.

Did I cause him bodily harm?

“No.”

Why do you say that?

“Because you didn’t physically harm him or incite a mob to physically harm him.”

Doesn’t matter. If I destroyed his business, then I absolutely did cause him bodily harm.

Now he won’t have enough revenue. He can’t pay his staff. Slowly, he has to fire one employee at a time. He can’t perform deliverables for his business. His business dies. He can’t pay his mortgage. Soon, he’s sleeping on the streets. He can’t buy food. He’s starving.

I took the roof over his head and the food from his mouth.

My words caused him physical pain.

Therefore, my freedom of speech did lead to bodily harm.

If I’m creating an accurate video about malpractice that his business conducted, then that’s fine. But if I’m spreading false information that eventually kills his business, then that’s not fine. As a reporter, I’d need to bring in facts before I hit publish.

Navigating Tough Times

I believe you should be able to express yourself.

If you’re hurting someone’s feelings… it is what it is.

It’s best if you can monitor your own behavior one day.

But monitoring your own behavior is different than the government monitoring your behavior.

Where things get tricky is when freedom of speech becomes dark and twisted.

• What happens when someone is creating factually inaccurate statements?
• What happens when freedom of speech leads to doxing?
• What happens when freedom of speech leads to an influential person inciting a mob on someone who can’t afford security?

For situations like that, you need to think these things through.

It’s easy to say, “I can say whatever I want without any consequences.”

But the real world doesn’t work like that—especially when it’s happening to you!

The second someone starts lying about you, you’ll see the pain that words can cause.

Words that cause hurt feelings are fine, but words that lead to potential physical threats must be monitored—especially if they are grounded in lies.

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– ArmaniTalks