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03 February 2021 / Nicholas Dobson
Issue: 7919 / Categories: Features , Human rights , Technology
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The dark arts: Cancel culture & freedom of speech

Nicholas Dobson navigates the murky world of free speech & cancel culture

Back in 1971 Coca-Cola ran a TV advertisement offering universal harmony in a bottle of Coke. All together now: ‘I‘d like to teach the world to sing/In perfect harmony/I’d like to buy the world a Coke/And keep it company.’ Some years later the internet was able to offer universal connectivity, if not always harmony.

But, as the COVID-19 lockdown demonstrated, the internet can be a force for good. Since 23 March 2020 when the stop whistle blew on normal life, it’s been the internet that’s kept people and businesses connected, enabled online shopping, afforded smooth remote working and video connectivity for many and kept life’s essentials ticking. The internet has also developed into an astonishingly rich and deep mine of information on all aspects of the human condition.

But, of course, in every Eden lurks a serpent. And once again the oily snake is human nature itself. For if an invention can do good, it

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Partner joinscorporate and finance practice in British Virgin Islands

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Firm strengthens children department with adoption and surrogacy expert

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Media and technology expert joins employment team as partner in Cambridge

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
The winners of the LexisNexis Legal Awards 2026 have now been announced, marking another outstanding celebration of excellence, innovation, and impact across the legal profession
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
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