Governor Asa Hutchinson's Weekly Address

The freedom of speech is one of the bedrock principles upon which our country was founded. The purchase of Twitter by the world’s richest man this week has reignited the discussion surrounding free speech, and I’d like to share my thoughts on the importance of this freedom.Social media censorship has been a concern of many Americans for years. While platforms like Facebook and Twitter are privately owned companies that set their own rules for the service they provide, the concern over the spread of misinformation and disinformation on these sites is one shared by millions of Americans.There is equal concern over how these private companies censor or ban certain speech, and the argument is that the platforms are, in essence, the public square where speech should not be limited.These worries have led some elected leaders to call for increased censorship, while others have called for a hands-off approach.Throughout our nation’s history, especially in times of war and turmoil, Americans have spilled a lot of ink