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If freedom of speech is absolute, how come it's not applied for private spaces and for the Internet?

Last Updated: 22.06.2025 14:00

If freedom of speech is absolute, how come it's not applied for private spaces and for the Internet?

Freedom of speech does not apply to:

Insider trading

HIPAA violations

How physicists used antimatter, supercomputers and giant magnets to solve a 20-year-old mystery - The Conversation

Perjury

Insurrection

You have freedom of speech. If I loan you my computer, I can tell you not to use it for certain things, because it’s mine, you have no right to use it, and if I give you permission to use it I can tell you what you can and can’t do with it.

13 million years ago, this object released as much energy as a billion suns in a fraction of a second! - Farmingdale Observer

Threats of violence

Trade secrets

False advertising

Why does my crush make me jealous about having a girlfriend?

Revenge porn

Terroristic threats

If you’re wondering why free speech doesn’t apply to the internet, it’s because you have no right to use other people’s stuff for free.

JWST spies frigid alien world on bizarre orbit: 'One of the coldest, oldest and faintest planets that we've imaged to date' - Space

Revealing classified information

And much, much more.

Child pornography

Capivasertib given to breast cancer patients in Wales for first time - BBC

No freedom is absolute.

Fraud

That’s what it is. You have no right to use other people’s stuff. If people let you use their stuff, they can tell you how you can use it, and they can tell you to stop using it any time they want.

Why do flat earthers exist?

You have freedom to travel. If I loan you my car, I can tell you not to take it out of town, because it’s mine, you have no right to use it, and if I give you permission to use it I can tell you what you can and can’t do with it.

Conspiracy