Free Speech Union

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 conservative British columnist Toby Young. The FSU describes itself as non-partisan and aims to counter cancel culture, oppose laws that limit free speech.

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

Campaigns

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

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

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]