A global stress test for freedom of expression One of democracy’s fundamental pillars is teetering. Across the world, governments are failing to protect the freedom of expression; elsewhere, individuals and groups hide behind free speech to spread hate and discrimination. In Switzerland, citizens are increasingly being called to the ballot box to decide on what counts as acceptable expression. This content was published on May 17, 2021 - 14:34 May 17, 2021 - 14:34 Bruno Kaufmann Bruno is swissinfo.ch’s global democracy correspondent as well as being a long-term foreign correspondent for the Swiss Broadcasting Company, based in Sweden. He is also the Director of International Relations at the Swiss Democracy Foundation and Co-president of the Global Forum on Modern Direct Democracy.