The UK government is set to reactivate the Higher Education Freedom of Speech Act, a law that was passed under the previous Conservative government in 2023. The legislation aimed to enforce freedom of speech on university campuses and included controversial new powers which allowed the regulator, the Office for Students (OfS), to fine or sanction higher education providers and student unions in England for failing to uphold freedom of speech. A new complaints scheme for individuals who suffered from a breach of a university’s free-speech obligation was also included in the act.
However, concerns were raised over the potential damage to student welfare, leading to the pause of the law’s implementation shortly after Labour’s election win last summer. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson stopped the law from coming into force over fears it could protect people using hate speech on campuses and expose universities to expensive legal action. At the time, a government source argued the legislation would have allowed Holocaust deniers on campus and was an “antisemite charter.”
After spending the past six months considering the legislation’s fate, the act is now being reactivated. The details of how the legislation’s provisions will differ are yet to be made clear. Still, the government source said academic freedom mattered more than students not being offended, and there would be an adequate complaints process in place for individuals who suffered from a breach of the university’s free-speech obligation. The legislation’s introduction is expected to allow speakers to express their views on campus, provided they don’t meet the threshold of hate speech or inciting violence.
Universities have seen protests in recent years, including a talk by gender-critical academic Kathleen Stock at Oxford. There have also been cases of “no-platforming,” where a controversial speaker is banned from an event. The Higher Education Freedom of Speech Act aims to encourage free speech on campus while acknowledging individual sensitivities and ensuring that controversial ideas are not censored
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