Hate Speech

Abstract

A common definition of “hate speech” is speech that vilifies, intimidates, or incites hatred toward an individual or group on the basis of a perceived social identity such as race, ethnicity, religion, gender, or sexual orientation. The word “speech” here refers not only to verbal inscriptions and utterances, but also to pictorial representations and symbols, such as swastikas and Ku Klux Klan masks, and expressive acts, such as cross‐burning and the defacing of mosques. While most people acknowledge that hate speech is often offensive and sometimes harmful, there is considerable debate about whether it is so harmful that it should be legally restricted. In the United States, hate speech is generally considered protected speech, under the First Amendment of the US Constitution, and most Anglo‐American philosophical writing about hate speech has discussed whether – and, if so, why – this position is justified. Although the right to freedom of expression, including the right to engage in hate speech, is widely considered in the United States to be a fundamental human right of virtually paramount value, in other countries, free speech is constrained by other rights, such as the rights to dignity, respect, and equality. With globalization and the increasing use of online media, one can no longer take an isolationist or parochial approach to policies concerning hate speech, and, in the digital age, the most pressing issue, in much of the world, is not what governments should do about hate speech, but, rather, what online platforms should do.