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In the Media

Articles That Mention the Free Speech Union

Cosmetic surgery firm sues customers over negative reviews

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Bryn Harris, the FSU chief counsel, said it was alarming that abusive litigation tactics were being deployed against consumers sharing honest opinions about services they had paid for.
“Unlike journalists and authors, who are the usual targets of Slapps, our members did not have legal representation or the backing of a publisher. I don’t think it would occur to anyone posting an online review that they would ever need legal advice.”

Fiona Hamilton, The Times, 18th December 2023.

Cosmetic surgery chain Signature Clinic SUES customers who left bad reviews online for defamation – as company comes under fire for “using legal action to try to silence critics”

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Toby Young, General Secretary of the Free Speech Union, told MailOnline: ‘Unhappy customers should be able to tell people about their bad experiences on sites like Trustpilot without fear of being sued for defamation.
“My father Michael Young started Which! magazine, so defending people’s right to write reviews of consumer goods and services without fear or favour is following in the family tradition.”

Tom Cotterill, MailOnline, 18th December 2023.

Free speech “deteriorating” as sector waits for OfS interventions

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Bryn Harris, the chief legal counsel for the Free Speech Union, which campaigned heavily for the new legislation, said the Gaza situation had been “very difficult for university leaders” but “they must acknowledge too that some Jewish students are facing threat and provocation that don’t fall within free speech and are considerably more grave than the ‘microaggressions’ often policed by universities”.

Tom Williams, Times Higher Education, 18th December 2023.

The global march of censorship

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Toby Young, founder and director of the Free Speech Union (FSU), joined Brendan O’Neill on the latest episode of The Brendan O’Neill Show to discuss the global march of censorship and how we can fight back. What follows is an edited extract from their conversation.

Spiked, 12th December 2023.

Even Tommy Robinson has the right to protest

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I was at the march against antiSemitism in London on Sunday, but did not witness the arrest of Tommy Robinson. I’m thankful for that because I wouldn’t have known how to react in my capacity as head of the Free Speech Union. Whether the Met was right to arrest him (and subsequently charge him) requires careful thought and the fact that the answer isn’t obvious makes me sympathise with the operational commander who had to make a decision.

Toby Young, The Spectator, 2nd December 2023.

The future is bright for academic freedom

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These organisations join the well-established Academics for Academic Freedom group, with branches being formed in numerous Universities across the UK at a fast pace; and the well-known Free Speech Union, which supports many academics and higher education staff in their free speech disputes.

James Murray, The Critic, 24th November 2023.

Civil servants temporarily deleted clause barring teachers from pushing political views

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Bryn Harris, the chief legal counsel at the Free Speech Union, said: “Academy funding agreements are where schools go to understand what their obligations are.”
“There’s a real risk that absent a clear employment agreement, academy schools may actually not know their legal obligation regarding impartiality. It’s not just that it leaves the academy not knowing what their duties are, it may also complicate enforcing those duties with the relevant regulator.”
Analysis of 14 academy school funding agreements by the Free Speech Union in 2021 found that seven did not have “anti-indoctrination” clauses.

Louisa Clarence-Smith, The Telegraph, 20th November 2023.

What’s at stake in the culture wars?

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The good news is that two initiatives have improved the prospects of free speech in this country over the past three years. The first was the founding of the Free Speech Union by Toby Young in February 2020. (I have an interest here: I chair the FSU’s board.) The FSU now boasts over 11,000 subscribing members, and it is helping to support legal cases that will nudge the future interpretation of the law in favour of freedom of speech. It has also spawned sister organisations in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

Nigel Biggar, The Critic, 10th November 2023.

Why are libraries hiding gender-critical books?

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Does being a gender-critical writer put you on par with Hitler? According to Calderdale Council in West Yorkshire, the answer is yes.
Earlier this year, Helen Joyce’s bestselling book, Trans: When Ideology Meets Reality, was deemed so offensive by a member of Calderdale Council that human resources insisted it be removed from public-library shelves and hidden in storage. Joyce wasn’t the only gender-critical author to be treated in this way – Kathleen Stock, Abigail Shrier and Heather Brunskell-Evans also had their books removed from public view, while still being available for order.

Carrie Clark, Spiked, 7th November 2023.

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