Wikipedia:Free speech
This is an essay. It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints. |
This page in a nutshell: Although we welcome all constructive contributors, editing Wikipedia is a privilege, not a right. There is no legal right to edit Wikipedia. |
The "right to
In sum, in the United States you have the legal right to speak your mind (with certain narrow exclusions) on a street corner, at a town council meeting, or in a letter to your elected representatives. But you have no "right" to express yourself at will in someone else's home, to demand that a private newspaper publish your thoughts, or to insist that Wikipedia carry what you write—even if it's "The Truth".
There are some cases in which Wikipedia's editorial discretion is limited by the law, as when court decisions define a boundary between copyright violations and fair use. Editors may argue that Wikipedia's freedom of speech is violated when Wikipedia is forced to comply with these laws, but the appropriate venue for lodging these complaints is the political process.
Whilst Wikipedia is free-and-open, that freedom is limited in circumstances that conflict with building an encyclopaedia.
What Wikipedia is not
Wikipedia is dedicated to expanding access to the sum of human knowledge.
Text of the First Amendment
The text of the First Amendment states that:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
The most relevant clause of that Amendment to the matter at hand is "Congress shall make no law." Wikipedia is a private website, hosted by the privately incorporated Wikimedia Foundation and governed solely by the
This is not to say that the Wikimedia Foundation intends to extensively exercise that legal right, if it can be avoided. Wikipedia welcomes all constructive contributors, and is dedicated to
Wikipedia policies
There are policies, like the
Summary
In short, editing Wikipedia is a privilege granted to you by the permission of the Wikimedia Foundation, and can be revoked at any time for whatever reason that organization sees fit to do so. Your only legal rights on Wikipedia are:
- your right to fork (create another encyclopaedia independent of the Wikimedia Foundation, provided that any reused content from Wikipedia or other Wikimedia projects is attributed as per the CC BY-SA 4.0 license)
- your right to leave (stop editing)
- your copyright to your contributions to Wikipedia (which are also automatically released under one or several liberal licenses, which require that anyone who uses your work give you credit for it).
This being said, we're not trying to be jerks. Nor do we plan on being jerks. We do hope that you stay, and help us to build a better Wikipedia. There's lots of work to be done, and everyone who's willing to contribute constructively is needed. Including you.
Please note
Please note: Nothing on Wikipedia.org or of any project of Wikimedia Foundation Inc., should be construed as an attempt to offer or render a legal opinion or otherwise engage in the practice of law. Please see Wikipedia:Legal disclaimer.
See also
- WP:Censorship issue
- WP:WikiProject Freedom of speech
- WP:NOT
- Wikipedia is not anarchy (Wikipedia is not a forum for unregulated free speech)
- Wikipedia is not censored
- Wikipedia is not a democracy
- Wikipedia is not a soapbox
- Wikipedia is not a forum
- m:Power structure
Notes
External links
- "Free Speech" xkcd webcomic, making the same point as this essay in six panels. Also consider the mouseover text.