Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the liberty to articulate opinions without fear of retaliation or censorship.
While the idea is old — John Milton argued that a marketplace of ideas should be as open and free as possible in 1644 — it took until 1948 before freedom of speech gained global recognition via the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations.
But what exactly is it, what statements are protected by it, and which ones aren't?
