News September 28, 2020

CFE Releases Statement of Concern about Zoom and YouTube Shutting Down University Panel Discussion

In a statement released today, the Centre for Free Expression calls on Zoom, YouTube, and all other online technology providers to cease being censors of discussions being held by universities, schools and libraries.

CFE urges “online technology providers to acknowledge civil liberties and human rights; to leave decisions about what content should be discussed in the hands of the universities, schools, and libraries that use their services; and to recognize that censoring events based on the identity and history of individuals runs the risk of impeding movements for social change at a time when society is calling out for transformation.”

Drafted by the Centre’s Working Group on Intellectual Freedom, the statement is a response to the actions of Zoom and YouTube in stopping a San Francisco State University academic panel discussion on September 23rd.

The reality for libraries, schools and university, the statement notes, is that the pandemic has meant they have had to place “control over the distribution of information in the hands of those who do not share the same interests in open dialogue about controversial ideas.”

“This poses a serious problem for the ability of universities, libraries, and schools to fulfill their public responsibilities when private platforms feel they have the authority to censor the work of these institutions,” said James L. Turk, Director of the Centre for Free Expression.

“We hope that other organizations will join our call for online technology providers to cease such actions.”

For more information, please contact James L.Turk, CFE Director, james.turk@ryerson.ca, (613) 277-0488.

What should be the limits to freedom of expression in Canadian universities?

Tue Jan 28, 7:00pm

Online

Panelists: Jamie Cameron, Louis-Philippe Lampron, Richard Moon, Vershawn Young Moderator: James L. Turk

Canadian universities and faculty must continue to push back against the speech-stifling IHRA antisemitism Working Definition

In January 2024, we wrote a blog post (and one of us, Blayne Haggart, wrote a companion piece) for the Centre for Free Expression raising concerns about the weaponization of antisemitism to stifle academic and political speech in the context of Israel’s ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. We wrote it in the context of the then-upcoming and now proposed Bill C-63, the Online Harms Act.

Margaret Atwood: On Investing with Libraries in A Future for Expressive Freedom

As part of the Edmonton Public Library’s Forward Thinking Speaker Series, I was invited to talk with Margaret Atwood on freedom of expression, her writing, and moderating audience questions. Given the timing, our armchair discussion quickly turned to politics.