How free speech became a ‘risk problem’

At Free Speech Summit 2025, Augustina Del Campo explores whether the modern free speech movement may have unintentionally contributed to today’s speech conflicts. Drawing on two decades of international human rights work, she examines how the global conversation has shifted from rights to risk, and why freedom of expression may now be declining across both digital and traditional spaces.

From platform moderation and Section 230 to government pressure and the growing trust in state regulation, this keynote asks a difficult question: Did advocates allow the free speech debate to drift away from fundamental principles, and what would it take to reclaim them?