Prohibition Of Hate Speech Research Articles

Gender and the Prohibition of Hate Speech

This article examines the current absence of legal regulation of gendered hate speech in Australia. Drawing on contemporary examples, the article compares hate speech directed towards women as women with other forms of hate speech, in particular racial hate speech, which is currently the subject of legal regulation in all Australian jurisdictions. The various laws regulating hate speech in Australia, civil and criminal, are discussed. Possible reasons for the failure to recognise gendered hate speech are canvassed and recommendations made for legislative change to recognise the harm it causes.

Gender and the Prohibition Of Hate Speech

This article examines the current absence of legal regulation of gendered hate speech in Australia. Drawing on contemporary examples, the article compares hate speech directed towards women as women with other forms of hate speech, in particular racial hate speech, which is currently the subject of legal regulation in all Australian jurisdictions. The various laws regulating hate speech in Australia, civil and criminal, are discussed. Possible reasons for the failure to recognise gendered hate speech are canvassed and recommendations made for legislative change to recognise the harm it causes.

Express Yourself! Political Participation Rights and the Demand for Censorship

Free speech is supposed to be a crucial prerequisite for democracy. Nevertheless, the latest discussions on the regulation of the internet or the support for military censorship indicate that people may demand censorship. But what are the driving forces behind the demand for information regulations? From an economic point of view the dispersion of certain messages may cause informational externalities. Besides the social costs, individual benefits and paternalistic intentions are listed as further reasons for the support of restrictions. At the heart of these arguments lies mistrust. People believe that the others are more influenced by bad information than they are. Here it will be argued that political institutions play an eminent role. When people have more political participation rights like in direct democracies, information is more valuable and people learn to use the means of discussion. This helps to reduce mistrust and dampens the demand for censorship. These considerations will be tested with a unique data set from a Swiss popular referendum concerning the prohibition of hate speech. First results show that individuals who live in federal states with more political participation rights are more likely to vote against the prohibition. Control variables for externalities, political orientation and cultural background are included.