Substack Teams Up with FIRE to Shield Foreign Writers from Government Crackdowns

Substack has announced a partnership with the nonprofit Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) to provide legal support to foreign writers residing lawfully in the US who may face government targeting for their writing. This follows recent attacks on free speech, such as the recent arrest of a Tufts University student potentially linked to an opinion piece criticizing the university. The initiative expands Substack's existing Defender program, which has supported dozens of writers in the US, Canada, and the UK since 2020, covering issues like defamation and trademark infringement. It remains unclear whether the program extends to videos posted on Substack.