A group of Oxford dons have called for the university’s harassment policies and social media guidelines to be changed due to fears they inhibit freedom of speech. They said the university’s policies on harassment and social media use prohibit “speech that is lawful” and are therefore in breach of the university’s legal duty to protect freedom of speech. “These policies frustrate academic freedom – the lifeblood of this university – and harm academic careers,” the dons said. The academics said that the current policies were “unlawful” and did not comply with the university’s duty to safeguard academic freedom. The dons said that failure to safeguard academic freedom “poses a grave risk to the university’s reputation”.

Source: The Times June 10, 2022 11:49 UTC