Free Speech Union

British organisation

The Free Speech Union

Formation| 24 February 2020; 5 years ago (2020-02-24)
Founder| Toby Young
Type| Nonprofit advocacy
Legal status| Active
Headquarters| London, United Kingdom
Website| freespeechunion.org

The Free Speech Union (FSU) is a British organisation with the stated mission of campaigning for freedom of speech and standing up for the speech rights of its members.[1] It was incorporated on 20 November 2019[2] by British columnist Toby Young. The FSU describes itself as non-partisan, and aims to counter cancel culture and oppose laws that limit free speech.

## Campaigns

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Founder Toby Young wrote that the organisation was founded to counter cancel culture.[3][4] The FSU has written letters to several universities to criticise no-platforming,[5] and has also lobbied against the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill. In a submission to the public consultation, prepared by law professor Andrew Tettenborn of Swansea University, the FSU claimed that the bill would be one of the most draconian constraints on free speech in the Western world.[6][non-primary source needed]

In October 2020, a director of the FSU announced that the Union had begun a lawsuit against Ofcom over its March 2020 "coronavirus guidance", which was published simultaneously with the UK lockdown. The guidance "warns broadcasters to exercise extreme caution before criticising the response by the public health authorities or interviewing any sceptics." The FSU director claimed that the guidance was the reason for the lack of public discussion of the Great Barrington Declaration.[7][non-primary source needed] A judge dismissed the case and the FSU had to pay £16,732 to cover Ofcom's costs.[8]

In November 2021, the FSU announced that it would be taking legal action against Essex University. The previous year, an independent review commissioned by the university had found that the university had failed to uphold free-speech in its treatment of two female professors, who hold contentious views about transgender people, in December 2019. The university later apologised to both professors. The FSU argued that the university failed to act on the recommendations of the review and stated in their pre-action letter that it is in breach of free-speech law.[9]

After Cambridge University launched an online portal for students to anonymously report microaggressions, the Free Speech Union threatened legal action. The portal was later removed.[10]

In September 2021, the Free Speech Union crowdfunded around £25,000 for the legal fees of a train conductor who had been fired by West Midlands Trains for a Facebook post including the comment "I don't want to live in some sort of alcohol-free Muslim caliphate just to beat Covid-19". The conductor received compensation from West Midlands Trains.[11]

In Byline Times, Nafeez Ahmed said that Birkbeck College professor Eric Kaufmann, an advisor to the FSU, was behind Education Secretary Gavin Williamson's proposal to regulate free speech at English universities. Ahmed found that the Free Speech Champions project was connected to Spiked and the Charles Koch Foundation.[12] Digital sociologists writing in Race & Class linked the Free Speech Union in a network analysis to thirteen other campaign groups sharing staff and members that were part of a "war on woke" and centered on Spiked.[13]

## Leadership

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In addition to Young, directors of the union include Douglas Murray, Inaya Folarin Iman, and Nigel Biggar.

The Legal Advisory Council of the FSU consists of sixteen lawyers, among them law professor Raymond Wacks.[14]

The Media/PR Advisory Council consists of several journalists including Julia Hartley-Brewer[15] and Allison Pearson,[16] as well philosopher Arif Ahmed.[15]

The FSU Advisory Board includes politician Jim Sillars.[17]

## Criticism

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Reacting to the formation of the FSU Joel Golby, writing an op-ed for The Guardian, argued that the Free Speech Union was either a grift or a misguided attempt to defend free speech, which could gain traction and distract from unspecified more critical issues.[18]

In September 2022, PayPal shut down the accounts of the Free Speech Union and Toby Young due to claimed breaches of PayPal's acceptable use policy, believed to relate to alleged misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines.[19] Following public backlash and criticism, PayPal reversed its decision a few days later, reinstating the accounts and issuing an apology.[20]

## References

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1. ^ "About Us". The Free Speech Union. 16 February 2023. Retrieved 5 February 2025.
2. ^ "THE FREE SPEECH UNION LIMITED overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk.
3. ^ "So you've been canceled. Here's how to fight back". The Spectator USA. 24 January 2020. Archived from the original on 25 January 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
4. ^ Simpson, John (24 February 2020). "Free speech union fights Twitter 'witch‑hunts'" - via www.thetimes.co.uk.
5. ^ "Blog Archives". The Free Speech Union. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
6. ^ "Submission to the Scottish Parliament on the Hate Crime Bill". 7 July 2020.
7. ^ Young, Toby (17 October 2020). "Why can't we talk about the Great Barrington Declaration?". The Spectator.
8. ^ Bland, Archie (9 January 2021). "Students quit free speech campaign over role of Toby Young-founded group". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
9. ^ Turner, Camilla (26 November 2021). "Toby Young's free speech campaign takes on university for silencing gender-critical scholars". The Telegraph. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
10. ^ Turner, Camilla; Rudra, Pravina (24 May 2021). "Cambridge removes website where dons can be reported for 'raising an eyebrow'". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
11. ^ "Leamington railway conductor wins year-long compensation battle with employer who deemed his Facebook post to be 'racist and Islamophobic'". Warwickshire World. 30 November 2021. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
12. ^ Ahmed, Nafeez (16 February 2021). "'Free speech' Czar Role linked to Toby Young's Free Speech Union and US Right-Wing Funding Network". Byline Times. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
13. ^ Davies, Huw C.; MacRae, Sheena E. (15 May 2023). "An anatomy of the British war on woke". Race & Class. 65 (2). SAGE: 3–54\. doi:10.1177/03063968231164905. hdl:20.500.11820/88a2ddbe-bfd1-4c48-9a86-51aeceb41a81.
14. ^ "Who We Are". The Free Speech Union. Archived from the original on 7 August 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
15. ^ a b Hartley-Brewer, Julia (11 December 2020). "A victory for freedom at Cambridge shows the woke mob can only win if we let them". Telegraph Media Group Limited.
16. ^ "Free Speech Union: Who We Are". Archived from the original on 7 August 2020. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
17. ^ Advisory Board, FSU (17 January 2025). "Free Speech Union About". Retrieved 17 January 2025.
18. ^ Golby, Joel (24 February 2020). "Say what you want about Toby Young – no, really, he'll defend your right to say it". The Guardian.
19. ^ James Beal (22 September 2022). "PayPal Free Speech Union accounts shut over Covid 'misinformation'". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 23 September 2022 - via www.thetimes.co.uk.
20. ^ Warrington, James (27 September 2022). "PayPal reinstates Free Speech Union accounts after being accused of politically-motivated censorship". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 6 July 2024.

## External links

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* Official website