The Battle against Hate Speech and Freedom of Expression Online

Abstract

The issue of hate speech has gained another dimension since the creation of the newest mass media: spreading of hatred online. There will be created a clear view on the problem of defining hate speech and the limitation of freedom of speech by the European Court of Human Rights combined with the reasoning of more focus on the online aspect, its characteristics and causes of generating more hate, harm and similar behaviour. This will lead to a human rights approach, including legal comparison, social angles and a focus on society as a whole. This paper will assess the need for a new impulse for battling hate speech, due to the lack of definition, framework and eye for new actors and the characteristics of the internet which are of importance for the actor and victim.