British Prime Minister David Cameron trumpeted his support for free speech in an interview with CBS over the weekend, days after suggesting a ban on communication through popular messaging services like iMessage–a move widely denounced as chilling to free speech.
“I think in a free society, there is a right to cause offense about someone’s religion,” Cameron told CBS on “Face the Nation.”
He was responding negatively to recent comments on the “Charlie Hebdo” attack by Pope Francis, which some took as defending violent reactions to speech. The pope has since clarified his remarks, saying that “In theory we can say a violent reaction to an offense or provocation isn’t a good thing, that one shouldn’t do it,” but “there is prudence.”
“I’m a Christian,” Cameron said, reflecting on the pope’s comments. “If someone says something offensive about Jesus, I might find that offensive, but in a free society I don’t have a right to wreak my vengeance upon them. We have to accept that newspapers, magazines can publish things that are offensive to some as long as it’s within the law.”
“My job is not to tell a newspaper what to publish or what not to publish,” he reiterated. “My job is to uphold the law that they can publish things within the law.”
Cameron proposed banning messaging apps like WhatsApp, Snapchat, and iMessage because they are too difficult for government surveillance to access. “Are we going to allow a means of communications which it simply isn’t possible to read?” Cameron asked himself. “My answer to that question is: ‘No, we must not.’”
Watch the interview below via CBS:
