Clean Reader is a free speech issue

My latest Guardian column, Allow Clean Reader to swap ‘bad’ words in books – it’s a matter of free speech expands on last week’s editorial about the controversial ebook reader, which lets readers mangle the books they read by programatically swapping swear-words for milder alternatives.

I agree with the writers who say that the app is offensive, and that it makes books worse. Where I part company with Clean Reader’s detractors is where they claim that it is — or
should be — illegal. If we...