Facebook doesn’t transform free speech into a lesser right

[Commentary] Freedom of speech is the most cherished of American rights, zealously protected by legal rules that give wide berth to expressions of nastiness, pettiness, anger and frustration -- and to descriptions of gruesomeness, violence and horror -- in order to steer far clear of crushing legitimate speech that might be disfavored by politicians, misunderstood by judges or unpopular in a particular community. Yet the government opposes even having to show recklessness on the part of a speaker in order to imprison him. “That’s not the kind of standard that we typically use in the First Amendment,” Justice Elena Kagan said. “We typically say that the First Amendment requires a kind of buffer zone to ensure that even stuff that is wrongful maybe is permitted because we don’t want to chill innocent behavior.” The court must keep that principle in mind for the sake of those who might stop speaking out of fear that a prosecutor and jury somewhere will disapprove of what they have to say.