Countries are increasingly willing to censor speech online

IN 2016 THE World Health Organisation (WHO) declared Britain to be officially free from measles, a highly infectious illness that killed about 110,000 people around the world in 2017. The success was short-lived. After 991 infections were recorded in England and Wales in 2018, the WHO revoked Britain’s disease-free label.

Cases of measles are rising in many countries, fuelled in part by conspiracy theories claiming that vaccines given to children cause autism (they do not). “Anti-vaxxers” have long used internet forums and social media to spread their nonsense. Matt Hancock, Britain’s health minister, would like to see that stopped. In March he said that internet giants such as Facebook and Google should have a “duty of care” to their users, putting them in the same legal position as schools or doctors. If firms would not stop the spread of anti-vaccination messages voluntarily, said Mr Hancock, he would consider changing the law to force them to do so.