The International Forum for Responsible Media Blog
Scotland’s new hate crime law came into force on April 1, sparking immediate controversy over its potential effects on freedom of speech and expression, especially online. The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act expands on current laws about crimes that have the possibility to stir up hatred, in Scotland only. Continue reading
Self-confident people are usually not too concerned about what other people post on their social media pages. But they should be. On 15 May 2023, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (‘ECtHR’ or ‘the Court’) released its judgment in the case of Sanchez v France, following an earlier Chamber decision which found no violation of Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). In a lengthy decision, the Grand Chamber explored the limits of freedom of expression in the context of hate speech in an election-related setting and intermediary liability for actors on the internet. Continue reading
On 16 February 2021, the European Court of Human Rights (‘the Court’) decided ground-breaking cases of minority othering: Behar and Gutman; Budinova and Chaprazov. The twin cases, stemming from collective domestic litigation, concern anti-Semitic/ anti-Roma hate speech. Continue reading
Hate-speech against sexual minorities has become a pressing issue for the ECHR. Online media and social platforms boosted the possibilities one has to express both personal opinions and hateful comments, thus making it harder for the Strasbourg Court to draw the line of the protection afforded by the ECHR. Continue reading
Twitter has finally permanently removed right-wing commentator Katie Hopkins from its platform for violating its “hateful conduct” policy. Many would ask why it took so long for Twitter to ban someone with such a long record of offensive comments. Continue reading
On 12 December 2019 a civil court in Rome ruled in favour of CasaPound Italy (CPI) against Facebook’s decision to close the far-right party’s profile in September and ordered the social network to reopen it with immediate effect and pay the group €800 for each day the account has been closed. Continue reading
On 21 August 2019, Phineas Mojapelo, the Deputy Judge President of the South Gauteng Division of the High Court in the case of, Nelson Mandela Foundation Trusts v Afriforum NPC ([2019] ZAEQC 2) ruled that the display of the pre-1994 South African flag – the apartheid flag – constitutes hate speech. Continue reading
The case of footballer Raheem Stirling provides an avenue into the oft-overlooked issue of hate speech prevention and deterrence. The Stirling case provides an opportunity to consider the adequacy of English law in tackling hate speech, a nuanced and increasingly difficult to isolate issue. Continue reading
In its recent judgment in Stomakhin v. Russia, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) launched the message to all domestic authorities to adopt a “cautious approach” in determining the scope of “hate speech” crimes and to avoid “excessive interference” with the right to freedom of expression, especially when action is taken against ‘hate speech’ or extremist opinions that are mere criticism of the government, state institutions and their policies and practices. Continue reading
In the wake of an explosion in London on September 15, President Trump called for cutting off extremists’ access to the internet. Racists and terrorists, and many other extremists, have used the internet for decades and adapted as technology evolved, shifting from text-only discussion forums to elaborate and interactive websites, custom-built secure messaging systems and even entire social media platforms. Continue reading
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