Most of human history would say freedom of speech (and most of the concept of natural rights) is a rather newish ideology.
It's "newish" for Homo sapiens, but it originated during the Enlightenment in the 17th century. I struggle to call that "new." However I don't subscribe to the concept of natural rights. Rights are what people afford each other in a society. In a democracy, we vote on rights. In anarchy, rights are given and taken at the end of a gun.