University is blasted as “woke” for changing student email address format to use random letters – instead of the user’s initials – to be “more inclusive” to those who are “assuming a new identity”

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Toby Young, the founder and director of the Free Speech Union, blasted the move and said: “This seems like a parody of political correctness gone mad, the sort of thing you’d expect to see in a Netflix series satirising the ideological capture of universities by woke cultists.”

Tom Cotterill, MailOnline, 25th October 2022.

Christian Preacher Paid £10K by London Police After Wrongful Arrests for Reporting Islamist Threats

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Commenting on the Met’s apology and payout to Tash, Toby Young of the Free Speech Union, which advocated for her at the time, said: “This is a good result, but the question is whether the police are going to mend their ways and stop arresting people for the non-crime of being ’offensive’. I’m not going to hold my breath.”

Kurt Zindulka, Breitbart, 22nd October 2022.

Met says sorry for arresting Christian preacher Hatun Tash

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After Tash’s experience, Toby Young, the political commentator and founder of the Free Speech Union, wrote to Cressida Dick, the Met commissioner at the time, asking her “to train your officers to avoid acting in a way that is incompatible with free speech rights”.

Jonathan Ames, The Times, 21st October 2022.

Toby Young: My Battle With PayPal

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At around 2pm on 15th September I received an email from PayPal informing me that the company was ‘initiating closure’ of my personal account because I was ‘in violation’ of its ‘Acceptable Use Policy’. I looked up that policy and it covers a multitude of sins, but no clue was offered as to which one I’d committed. ‘If you have money in your PayPal balance, we’ll hold it for up to 180 days,’ it said. That was annoying because I had over $700 in the account, but it wasn’t the end of the world. I mainly use it for receiving payments from European magazines I write for occasionally. Then it got serious.

Toby Young, The Pavlovic Today, 18th October 2022.

Will I be PayPal’s downfall?

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Dan Schulman, the president and CEO of PayPal, gave an interview earlier this year entitled: ‘The thing that separates good companies from great ones: trust.’ He told the audience that companies need to do more than deliver an outstanding product to build trust. In addition, they need to ‘stand up for social issues that are important’ and ‘do the right things to help create a better world’. Ironically, it is precisely because PayPal has been energetically pursuing this agenda that trust in the company is beginning to evaporate.

Toby Young, The Spectator, 15th October 2022

Transgender schools guidance says discussing women’s rights could be offensive

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Toby Young, the founder of the Free Speech Union, said that the NEU trans network was planning to redefine transphobia “in such broad terms that any criticism of gender identity ideology – or the agenda of trans rights activists – would be deemed ‘transphobic’.”

Louisa Clarence-Smith, The Telegraph, 10th October 2022.

“Universities are turning debating chambers into echo chambers”: Institutions adopt stricter vetting rules for guest speakers and suggest trigger warnings and safe spaces for “controversial” speakers who might “cause upset”

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Toby Young, of the Free Speech Union, said: “The people running these debating societies have lost sight of their original purpose, which was to expose students to a range of different views, including those they may find challenging and disagreeable, so they can develop their own ideas and opinions and learn how to defend them in the public square. Safe spaces, trigger warnings and risk assessments have turned what were once debating chambers into echo chambers.”

Miles Dilworth, Daily Mail, 9th October 2022.

Student union BANS white students from attending Black History Month events – sparking accusations of racial segregation

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Leader of the Free Speech Union Toby Young has also weighed into the debate as he labelled the group ‘zealots’ who were failing to see the bigger picture. “At some point, you’d think it would be clear to these zealots that you’re not going to reduce racial discrimination by discriminating against people on the basis of their race, but they’re so blinkered by ideological groupthink they cannot see this glaring contradiction,” he said.

Arthur Parashar, MailOnline, 9th October 2022.

White students banned from Black History Month events at Westminster University

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Toby Young, of the Free Speech Union said: “At some point, you’d think it would be clear to these zealots that you’re not going to reduce racial discrimination by discriminating against people on the basis of their race, but they’re so blinded by ideological groupthink they cannot see this glaring contradiction.”

Louisa Clarence-Smith, The Telegraph, 7th October 2022.

Access to finance systems must be protected in the age of cancel culture

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PayPal has reversed its decision to close the accounts of the Free Speech Union (FSU) and the child welfare organisation UsforThem. But this ugly incident should not be forgotten. It reveals the vulnerability of even the most respectable pressure groups to arbitrary action by those who, for whatever reason, object to their message. PayPal may have backed down, but this problem is not going to go away.

Jonathan Sumption, The Times, 6th October 2022.

In the Media

Articles That Mention the Free Speech Union

University is blasted as “woke” for changing student email address format to use random letters – instead of the user’s initials – to be “more inclusive” to those who are “assuming a new identity”

Christian Preacher Paid £10K by London Police After Wrongful Arrests for Reporting Islamist Threats

Met says sorry for arresting Christian preacher Hatun Tash

Toby Young: My Battle With PayPal

Will I be PayPal’s downfall?

Transgender schools guidance says discussing women’s rights could be offensive

“Universities are turning debating chambers into echo chambers”: Institutions adopt stricter vetting rules for guest speakers and suggest trigger warnings and safe spaces for “controversial” speakers who might “cause upset”

Student union BANS white students from attending Black History Month events – sparking accusations of racial segregation

White students banned from Black History Month events at Westminster University

Access to finance systems must be protected in the age of cancel culture

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