In fact, its legality is exactly what calls into question the future of free speech online.

FORBES: Harvard Law Prof: Amazon's WikiLeaks Shutdown Set Dangerous Precedent

Group members fought against the Church of Scientology, which they believed to be suppressing free speech online, and shut down government Web sites in defense of WikiLeaks.

NEWYORKER: Machine Politics

In a March 29 letter to Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, the Media Coalition, a free-speech group, said the legislation was overly broad and could curb free speech online.

CNN: Sponsor: Arizona bill isn't aimed at Internet trolls

Attorney Hanni Fakhoury of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which advocates for online free speech and privacy rights, said the data amassed by police from surveillance cameras and personal devices has enormous crime-solving potential.

WSJ: Bombing probe highlights expansion of surveillance

He said that attacks on websites, arbitrary blocking and filtering, prosecution for legitimate online speech, unjustified surveillance, electronic death-threats and ultimately, murder, are among the threats to free expression online ( see full speech).

UNESCO: Communication and Information

In laying down the guidelines, the department is trying to balance free-speech rights and the educational benefits of online learning with the dangers it sees in teachers and students getting too comfortable in less-traditional settings.

WSJ: City Lays Out Digital Rules for Teachers

Instead, it infects the online community in a pandemic of free-speech-fueled defiance, gaining far more attention than it would have had the information's original owners simply kept quiet.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Advocates of free speech have described the latest measures as an attempt to inhibit online discussion as China embarks on a year of political transition in 2012.

BBC: China to extend controls over internet microblogs