For those who elected Donald Trump to the presidency, this week’s inauguration was a day to celebrate. For those who did not, it was a day of anxiety, even dread. For many in the United States and beyond, it was a time to reflect on the change to come.
In the first hours of his new presidency, Donald Trump began rolling back on rights via Executive Orders. Many, if not all, of these orders will be challenged in court, and many have significant implications for people’s First Amendment and other civil rights.
These orders make the Trump Administration’s intentions clear: its vision for the world seeks to undermine established democratic principles and the rule of law, and twist the meaning of free speech to suit its political agenda.
Now more than ever, it’s essential to be clear on what freedom of expression really means, and what it doesn’t.
Free speech does not grant the right to harass, target, and discriminate with impunity. It does not give those with deep pockets the right to use their money to sue others into silence in an effort to entrench power.
The United States has a proud tradition of safeguarding and championing freedom of expression and associated rights through the US Constitution, including freedom of the press and the rights of speech, assembly, privacy, and equality. These are the rights and values ARTICLE 19 will fight for in the United States and abroad, so that all people everywhere can realise the power or their voices, without fear or discrimination.
This means ensuring the safety of journalists and a robust media. It means giving people the power to choose what they see, access and share online, demanding transparency from tech companies and pushing back on content moderation policies that encourage hate and harassment of groups at risk. It means standing up for protesters, human rights defenders, and civil society.
Protecting freedom of expression means ensuring that everyone, especially those with less power, can use their voices to challenge the powerful, question the status quo, and demand change.
ARTICLE 19 will stand with the global human rights movement to push back against attempts to erode rights and address the ongoing global crisis of freedom of expression. Over the next 4 years, we will continue to defend these priorities, and we will hold President Trump, and those whose decisions impact our rights, to account on their record on free expression – in the United States, and globally.
Read our statement
