The Toxic Aspects of European Culture

How much is freedom worth? Knowing, for instance, that your nephew in college can’t be locked up for saying rude things on Twitter after a few beers? Or that you might actually be able to start a business without an unreasonable level of interference from the state? The U.S. respect for liberty is no mere abstraction, and its downstream consequences are evident.

In his thorough and authoritative book Eurotrash: Why America Must Reject the Failed Ideas of a Dying Continent, my colleague David Harsanyi notes that Article 10 of the European Union’s Convention of Human Rights begins by promising “the right to freedom of expression” but then lists so many exceptions that the so-called right becomes meaningless. The EU might as well state that people have the right to drive except on weekdays. Article 10 calls for “penalties” for any speech that might, for instance, affect “the protection of health or morals” or “the protection of the reputation or rights of others.” If someone feels his “reputation” is harmed, you could be prosecuted for nearly anything. A harsh movie review? A joke about a soccer player? If someone in power feels like bringing the hammer down on you, heaven help you. Thousands of Germans are convicted and fined for insults every year. Germany also outsources censorship by imposing huge fines — up to 50 million Euros — per instance of “hate speech” or defamatory “fake news” that doesn’t get deleted within 24 hours of notification, a law that predictably leads social-media companies to become their own speech police.

About the Author

Kyle Smith

Kyle Smith is the film critic for the Wall Street Journal.

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How much is freedom worth? Knowing, for instance, that your nephew in college can’t be locked up for saying rude things on Twitter after a few beers? Or that you might actually be able to start a business without an unreasonable level of interference from the state? The U.S. respect for liberty is no mere abstraction, and its downstream consequences are evident.

In his thorough and authoritative book Eurotrash: Why America Must Reject the Failed Ideas of a Dying Continent, my colleague David Harsanyi notes that Article 10 of the European Union’s Convention of Human Rights begins by promising “the right to freedom of expression” but then lists so many exceptions that the so-called right becomes meaningless. The EU might as well state that people have the right to drive except on weekdays. Article 10 calls for “penalties” for any speech that might, for instance, affect “the protection of health or morals” or “the protection of the reputation or rights of others.” If someone feels his “reputation” is harmed, you could be prosecuted for nearly anything. A harsh movie review? A joke about a soccer player? If someone in power feels like bringing the hammer down on you, heaven help you. Thousands of Germans are convicted and fined for insults every year. Germany also outsources censorship by imposing huge fines — up to 50 million Euros — per instance of “hate speech” or defamatory “fake news” that doesn’t get deleted within 24 hours of notification, a law that predictably leads social-media companies to become their own speech police.