Ask Thai citizens if they can imagine that. Or Russians.
In democracies, society has moved a bit into a direction where many harmless things said will trigger an upset in some very uptight people.
It's enforced socially rather than by the government. Back when you could not say things openly against governments, at least you could speak your mind on anything else.
Today, you can say whatever you want against the government, they are so far detached they don't care.
Free speech is a stupid political term, it has never truly existed an never will.
Freedom of speech is a principle that transcends political policies. In theory, it is a clear and unambiguous concept; in practice, governments ruin it with nearly arbitrary rules that run counter to that fundamental principle.
There are plenty of exceptions to freedom of speech in countries I'm familiar with. Things like advocacy of terrorism, hate speech, threats, disturbing the peace, obscenity in public, blasphemy, pornography of certain kinds, providing financial advice without a license, leaking secrets, copyright.
Edit: fraud, incitement. Who knows how many others?
In democracies, society has moved a bit into a direction where many harmless things said will trigger an upset in some very uptight people.
It's enforced socially rather than by the government. Back when you could not say things openly against governments, at least you could speak your mind on anything else.
Today, you can say whatever you want against the government, they are so far detached they don't care.
Free speech is a stupid political term, it has never truly existed an never will.