pocketspeak4e

Use Your Rights of Free Speech Responsibly

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Codes of ethical speech are built on moral rather than legal principles. Thus the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of speech, assures protection both to speakers who treat the truth with respect and to those whose words are inflammatory and offensive.

Though often legally protected, racist, sexist, homophobic, pornographic, and other forms of negative speech clearly are unethical and should be avoided at all costs. Be aware that certain types of speech are actually illegal:

Speech that provokes people to violence (“incitement” or “fighting words”)
Speech that can be proved to be defamatory, or that potentially harms an individual’s reputation at work or in the community
Speech that invades a person’s privacy, such as disclosing information about an individual that is not in the public record

How can you tell if your speech contains defamatory language? If you are talking about public figures or matters of public concern, you will not be legally liable unless it can be shown that you spoke with a reckless disregard for the truth—that is, if you knew that what you were saying was false but said it anyway. If your comments refer to private persons, it will be easier for them to assert a claim for defamation. You will have the burden of proving that what you said was true.⁴