Global Censorship: The Growing Threat to Free Speech Worldwide

Global Censorship Requires a Global Response

Governments across the world are imposing and enforcing laws laws that directly affect your ability to speak freely – and even to think freely.

Increasingly, we are seeing not only the failure to protect free speech but also governments introducing measures to actively silence and sanction it.

Our goal is to ensure that nobody is punished or persecuted for peacefully expressing their convictions.

Support our work to counter censorship today

Latest Case on Global Censorship

First ever legal challenge of a fine imposed by EU censorship law

X launched a landmark legal challenge against the €120 million fine it received in December under the Digital Services Act (DSA), an EU censorship law.

The DSA is a legally binding framework that gives the Commission authority to enforce so-called “content moderation” on “very large online platforms,” like X, Meta, and Google (platforms with more than 45 million users per month), which operate or are accessible in the EU.

Platforms that fail to comply with the DSA face massive financial penalties and can even be suspended.

The case also challenges the Commission’s combined role as regulator, prosecutor, and judge under the DSA—a role codified in the DSA itself, but which raises high concerns for due process and the rule of law.

Because the DSA applies to “very large online platforms,” a ruling from the EU court will affect how all big tech platforms are regulated by the law.

Who is Being Censored Around the World Today?

These are our clients, prosecuted under different laws in different countries for peacefully sharing their views online. We are defending their – and your – right to speak freely.

Veterinary student in Brazil facing up to 10 years in prison for a social media post

Isadora Borges is being criminally charged for posting comments on social media peacefully expressing her views on gender ideology, exposing her to a possible prison sentence of up to ten years.

In November 2020, Borges made two posts on X. One comment stated that “transgender” women “were obviously born male.” Another stated: “A person who identifies as transgender retains their birth DNA. No surgery, synthetic hormone, or clothing change will change this fact…”

Her comments quickly gained attention online, and prompted Erika Hilton, a self-described “transgender” politician, to report Borges for “transphobia” to the federal police.

Isadora Borges

Päivi Räsänen

Bible-tweet case reaches final high-stakes battle at Finnish Supreme Court

Päivi Räsänen continues to be criminally prosecuted for expressing her Christian beliefs on marriage and sexuality in a 2019 tweet. Following multiple police interrogations, she was charged with “hate speech” in April 2021, alongside Lutheran bishop Juhana Pohjola.

If convicted, they both face charges carrying potential prison sentences of up to two years. Throughout their ordeal, prosecutors have sought fines totalling tens of thousands of euros and the removal of Päivi’s publications.

Social media commentator defending free speech in Brazil

Nine Borges, a Brazilian social media commentator now living in the United Kingdom, is under police investigation in Brazil for allegedly “transphobic” speech, after posting a video criticising gender ideology and the use of government money to fund pro-LGBT NGOs in Brazil. A 2019 Supreme Federal Tribunal ruling established “transphobia” as a crime in Brazil, punishable with up to five years of jail time.

Nine Borges

Billboard Chris

Free Speech Victory in Australia for Billboard Chris as “X” post censorship overturned

Chris ‘Billboard Chris’ Elston – the advocate known for wearing a sandwich board reading “children cannot consent to puberty blockers” and engaging in street conversations amplified by viral videos across the world – mounted a successful legal challenge against the Australian “eSafety Commissioner” for censoring an online post criticising gender ideology, with the legal backing of ADF International.

Christian woman criminally charged for standing, silently praying in the UK

Charitable volunteer Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, who was previously cleared in court and received a payout from police for being unjustly arrested twice for her silent prayers, has been criminally charged again.

Prosecution Service have criminally charged Isabel Vaughan-Spruce because she “stood outside” an abortion facility, where “influence” is prohibited.

This is the first charge under the new national “buffer zones,” which came into force in 2024.

Isabel Vaughan-Spruce

Why Do We Need to Challenge Global Censorship?

Governments should focus on protecting speech, not squashing it

Freedom of speech is a prerequisite for a free society, and a fundamental human right guaranteed by every major human rights treaty. Upholding this right is essential for the protection of all of our human rights.

State-driven censorship fuels cancel culture and a climate of fear. Once the state starts censoring “unpopular” speech, there is no logical stopping point.

Without free speech, every human right is imperiled

While laws that punish speech often impose different punishments and occur in different contexts, the foundation is often very similar. For example, blasphemy laws and “hate speech” laws are both state-driven censorship grounded in the idea that some words are simply too offensive to be heard.

In a free society, ideas should be challenged with ideas, not censorship

As international human rights advocates with deep expertise in defending the right to free speech, ADF International is uniquely positioned to address the escalating censorship crisis globally.

Our work focuses on the international institutions – including the European Union and the Organisation of American States – which were set up to ensure states respect their human rights commitments.

We also champion our clients’ rights in national courts and defend fundamental freedoms before law-making bodies, securing precedent-setting victories that benefit everyone.

Will you stand with them and free speech?

We receive no public funding and never charge our clients for legal support. Everything we receive comes from the generosity of people like you.

Criminalising speech simply because it reflects a traditional belief is incompatible with a free and open society.

Paul Coleman

Executive Director of ADF International

Stay informed. A Guide to Understanding

The Digital Services Act

Imagine waking up to find your voice online—your ideas, your beliefs, your opinions—silenced, not by trolls or critics, but by unelected bureaucrats thousands of miles away.

This is the reality the Digital Services Act (DSA) could create. Although it purports to create “a safe online environment,” the DSA is among the most dangerous censorship regimes of the digital age.