People in the UK are in jail for writing angry tweets or Facebook posts they deleted a few hours later (Julie Sweeney, Lucy Connolly) or making AI memes (https://www.thewestmorlandgazette.co.uk/news/24514302.sellafield-worker-jailed-sharing-offensive-facebook-posts). A gay man in Hartlepool (Ryan Sheers) was jailed for 26 months for "dancing and gesticulating" at police officers, "taunting" and "shouting abuse" at them, despite the fact he wasn't involved in any violence, didn't throw anything or even lay a finger on anyone. A man from Wigan was jailed for 2 years for kicking a police car. Most of these riots convictions have escaped scrutiny because they're only reported in local press, but they're astonishingly disproportionate and illiberal.
Here's one from the Stoke Sentinel: "Builder Andrew Townley had no intention of attending or taking part in the riots but was trying to get to his mother's house on the opposite side of the police cordon. 'His mother relies heavily on him for things like shopping,' Townley's defence barrister Jason Holt explained in court. 'He was concerned about her welfare and was annoyed that he had been stopped from getting through the police line to get to her. He acknowledges that he tried to walk through the police line, but when he was stopped, he went back into the crowd and actually found another route through. He played no other part. He states he has no right-wing involvement and was most upset by what he heard being said. He admits he should have removed himself from the situation. His family have lived for over 100 years in Shelton, an area which is very multi-cultural and he has no axe to grind with anyone he has lived with. He is most upset with his behaviour and how it has affected others. He had no weapon and threw nothing, but he accepts his behaviour was totally out of order. He is a hardworking man and is someone who volunteered at the cricket club and the local mosque.'"
Hey! Yeah, I agree there have been lots of examples of heavy-handedness as well as instances where there’s no justification for any kind of punishment or redress. That said, the complaint that people are being “locked up for posting on Facebook” is stupid and misleading because it tells us nothing about the content of those posts. It really matters what people are saying right? Because incitement absolutely is a crime (again, I’m not saying that everyone who’s been in trouble for social media activity fits this category at all). But more broadly, my point is that Trump/Vance/Musk’s defences of free speech are totally unprincipled and performative. And that even the most cogent arguments for unrestricted free speech from American commentators and politicians inevitably emerge from a particular tradition—one which is in many ways distinct from the European one. So yeah, I think Vance did have a point but if he really believed what he was saying he wouldn’t be serving as VP.
As much as I hate Vance with the intensity of a thousand suns, unfortunately he does have a point. In Germany under Scholz's coalition, the finance minister pressed charges against hundreds of people for sharing a meme calling him a "blockhead" (a pun on the Schwarzkopf haircare logo: https://www.thetimes.com/world/europe/article/german-pensioner-home-raided-meme-green-party-leader-2krdbj6zr), and another man received a 7-month suspended prison sentence for posting a photoshopped meme of the home secretary holding a sign saying "I hate freedom of speech" (https://www.economist.com/europe/2025/04/16/the-threat-to-free-speech-in-germany).
People in the UK are in jail for writing angry tweets or Facebook posts they deleted a few hours later (Julie Sweeney, Lucy Connolly) or making AI memes (https://www.thewestmorlandgazette.co.uk/news/24514302.sellafield-worker-jailed-sharing-offensive-facebook-posts). A gay man in Hartlepool (Ryan Sheers) was jailed for 26 months for "dancing and gesticulating" at police officers, "taunting" and "shouting abuse" at them, despite the fact he wasn't involved in any violence, didn't throw anything or even lay a finger on anyone. A man from Wigan was jailed for 2 years for kicking a police car. Most of these riots convictions have escaped scrutiny because they're only reported in local press, but they're astonishingly disproportionate and illiberal.
Here's one from the Stoke Sentinel: "Builder Andrew Townley had no intention of attending or taking part in the riots but was trying to get to his mother's house on the opposite side of the police cordon. 'His mother relies heavily on him for things like shopping,' Townley's defence barrister Jason Holt explained in court. 'He was concerned about her welfare and was annoyed that he had been stopped from getting through the police line to get to her. He acknowledges that he tried to walk through the police line, but when he was stopped, he went back into the crowd and actually found another route through. He played no other part. He states he has no right-wing involvement and was most upset by what he heard being said. He admits he should have removed himself from the situation. His family have lived for over 100 years in Shelton, an area which is very multi-cultural and he has no axe to grind with anyone he has lived with. He is most upset with his behaviour and how it has affected others. He had no weapon and threw nothing, but he accepts his behaviour was totally out of order. He is a hardworking man and is someone who volunteered at the cricket club and the local mosque.'"
Jailed for 34 months for "violent disorder". (https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/stoke-on-trent-news/builder-phone-number-back-hi-9597283)
Hey! Yeah, I agree there have been lots of examples of heavy-handedness as well as instances where there’s no justification for any kind of punishment or redress. That said, the complaint that people are being “locked up for posting on Facebook” is stupid and misleading because it tells us nothing about the content of those posts. It really matters what people are saying right? Because incitement absolutely is a crime (again, I’m not saying that everyone who’s been in trouble for social media activity fits this category at all). But more broadly, my point is that Trump/Vance/Musk’s defences of free speech are totally unprincipled and performative. And that even the most cogent arguments for unrestricted free speech from American commentators and politicians inevitably emerge from a particular tradition—one which is in many ways distinct from the European one. So yeah, I think Vance did have a point but if he really believed what he was saying he wouldn’t be serving as VP.