The question presented in this paper is simple: Does the United States government have the right to restrict ideas, knowledge, or information? While this has been a hotly debated question over the years this paper provides evidence that, in many cases, the restrictions imposed by government officials (or their designated agents, such as a university’s Institutional Review Board) are based on arbitrary interpretations of the law. In addition, the officials making these decisions are rarely, if ever, held accountable for their decisions.
After analyzing the results of an online survey completed by over 5,000 participants regarding the issue of academic freedom, and conducted a review of the literature on this issue, it is the position of this paper that a neutral and independent decision-making body should be established to ensure that academic freedom of expression is not arbitrarily suppressed.
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Garfolo, B. T., L’Huillier, B., & Khan, S. (2017). The Slow Erosion of Academic Freedom: United States Government Barriers to Academic Research and the Sharing of Information. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 7(9), 371-382.
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