Most people at this conference have spent some time looking at the concept of free software. But closely allied to that concept is the concept of freedom of speech in software.
Freedom of speech means the absence of censorship.
Each speaker or author is free to speak or write on topics of their own choosing, to audiences of their own choosing, in their own choice of language and their own choice of words, without hindrance from the government. Software has been written for years without general examination of its free speech aspects. Movies started off being treated by the courts as mere flickering light-machines run by businesses, that they were free to regulate. It took almost 35 years to overturn that model, seeing them as a medium of expression for which regulation was forbidden. A straightforward look at software will show clearly how it deserves First Amendment protection.