Free Speech & Liability
I heard a piece on the BBC World Service this morning about a proposed law in Britain that would hold authors responsible if their works incite certain kinds of violence. As a writer, I got a little scared because of what might happen if the authorities held me responsible for the actions of my readers. How can I control what my words might influence someone to do? If I were writing malicious material, perhaps items encouraging violence, that would be one thing. But what if it were something completely harmless or something I intended to be and hoped would be benign? It seems like at times there could be a fine line between something benign and something inspiring negative action. And, of course, the law seems to be intended to stifle certain kinds of speech.
One of the quotes that stuck with me was something about how as much as the man speaking feared or disliked certain topics, he thought not discussing them in the open was even scarier.
I was unable to find the piece online, which is a shame because not only did I want to share it with you, but I wanted to listen to it again. I believe the reporter said the law did not pass, but people are considering a less dangerous variation of it. The legislation could be a reaction to what happened after some newspapers published controversial cartoons in 2005 that offended many Muslims and led to riots. Under the proposed law, would the newspaper editor or publisher have to defend against an accusation examining intent? If the law passed, what kind of effect might it have on publishing? Would people risk publishing anything that might possibly be offensive?
