The Conformity Crisis - Sarah McLaughlin On The Quiet Erosion Of Free Speech

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📅 Tour dates: 

📍 Auckland - Sun 19 April  
📍 Tauranga - Tue 21 April  
📍 Wellington - Wed 22 April  
📍 Christchurch - Thu 23 April  
📍 Dunedin - Fri 24 April 

We talk with Sarah McLaughlin from FIRE about why free speech threats spread across borders faster than most people notice, especially online. We dig into how self-censorship, “online safety” rules, and hate speech laws can shrink debate in universities and everyday life, including here in New Zealand.

• internet censorship and regulation crossing borders quickly
• young people bearing the brunt of speech control and pushing back
• universities self-censoring under pressure from foreign governments and funding
• why Europe and the UK matter for Kiwi free speech debates
• the UK Online Safety Act and spillover effects on global platforms
• under-16 bans, age verification, anonymity risks, and VPN crackdowns
• why hate speech laws can backfire and empower the wrong people
• defending a principle rather than defending a person

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