Timothy Garton Ash’s 10 Principles of Free Speech

1. We — all human beings — must be free and able to express ourselves, and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas, regardless of frontiers.
2. We neither make threats of violence nor accept violent intimidation.
3. We allow no taboos against and seize every chance for the spread of knowledge.
4. We require uncensored, diverse, trustworthy media so we can make well-informed decisions and participate fully in political life.
5. We express ourselves openly and with robust civility about all kinds of human difference.
6. We respect the believer but not necessarily the content of the belief.
7. We must be able to protect our privacy and to counter slurs on our reputations, but not prevent scrutiny that is in the public interest.
8. We must be empowered to challenge all limits to freedom of information justified on such grounds as national security.
9. We defend the Internet and other systems of communication against illegitimate encroachments by both public and private powers.
10. We decide for ourselves and face the consequences.

From: ‘Free Speech: Ten Principles for a Connected World,’ by Timothy Garton Ash. Yale University Press. 2016.