This project considers non-state (i.e., “private”) threats to liberty as a central problem in the history and theory of expressive freedoms (free speech, freedom of thought, religious toleration…). It challenges the idea that these freedoms are merely negative rights against state interference. First, it explores how early modern canonical thinkers saw private power – churches, feudal lords, trade monopolies… – as a danger to expressive and intellectual freedoms. Second, it argues that addressing contemporary challenges concerning mass communication, such as media and telecom infrastructure monopolies or powerful digital platforms, aligns with these early modern arguments. In short, “From toleration to net neutrality” looks for the normative foundations of contemporary media policy in historical sources too often dismissed or celebrated as merely “libertarian” – and therefore ostensibly uninteresting to deal with free speech problems other than the state censorship. Outputs include a multilingual outreach article, a scientific article, and a book proposal.
This event has passed.