Free speech already isn’t absolute. Free speech isn’t about words, it’s about expression of opinions. And it’s illegal to express some opinions in some ways. For example you can’t discriminate based on race when you hire employees.
We’re already willing to draw a line, and the world hasn’t gone to hell.
I actually live in Canada, where we have Hate Speech laws (like exist in many countries), where speech that is significantly harmful to marginalized communities is considered illegal. Despite what the Flu Trucks Clan ironically claim, they’re not being censored.
The line isn’t gonna slide one way out of control and nobody can stop it, the line is drawn where the people of the country largely think it should be. In some non-secular countries, the line is drawn very far and I think it’s gross. In other countries like the USA I think the line hasn’t been drawn far enough and people are put in needless harm.
Besides, were talking about Lemmy here, not laws for which you can be thrown in jail.