Research On The Regulation Of Hate Speech Online

Hate speech is expressions of intimidation,insult,harassment,incitement to violence or hatred against individuals or groups of individuals because of their particular identity including religion,ethnicity,nationality,race,colour,descent,gender or other identity factors..Effected by network information technology,hate speech is infiltrating public life in a quiet and rapid way,which has largely exacerbated the evolution of hate speech,making it move from “offline” to “online”.Compared with traditional hate speech,the influence of online hate speech is characterized by its aggregation effect,large impact and wide spread.As a result,all kinds of hate speech are permeating in cyberspace.In particular,some extremist groups take advantage of the borderless internet and its significant users to spread ethnic,racial,political and religious hatred in virtual space,which has triggered “online hatred” to backfire on“offline hatred”.This is manifested itself in the real world through various types of social conflicts,mass incidents and inter-individual conflicts.Such online hate speech not only has a significant impact on the rights of individuals,but also hinders the development of society,which creates a negative social atmosphere.Given the differences between hate speech online and traditional hate speech,the approach to regulating hate speech in the spring is not fully applicable to online hate speech,the hurtful and anonymous nature of online hate speech makes the traditional approach to the rules difficult,and the contradiction between the global impact of online hate speech and the territorialisation of the law makes it even more important to explore new paths of regulation.As a result,the issue of how to regulate hate speech online has become a new one.To address this issue,this article attempts to explore the human rights standards regulating online hate speech in terms of international human rights law and to draw out specific elements of regulation of online hate speech from the jurisprudence of regional courts.By analysing the legislative and judicial practices of various countries,the paper explores multiple standards of regulation based on different constitutional values.In addition,the rules and procedures for regulating hate speech online on internet platforms are examined in the light of human rights standards in order to identify the shortcomings of existing regulatory mechanisms.Finally,on the basis of the above analysis and summary,a common path for regulating hate speech online is sought in terms of concepts,system and governance models.In addition to the section of Introduction and Conclusion,this paper consists of five chapters.Chapter one provides an overview of hate speech online,including its connotations,generation mechanisms and characteristics.The definition of hate speech itself is complex,and a synthesis of different scholars’ views allows for the identification of hate speech in five ways.Compared to traditional hate speech,hate speech online is generated for a variety of reasons,including social and cultural influences,as well as the role of technology.In addition,analyzing the characteristics of hate speech online and clarifying the differences between online hate speech and traditional hate speech will help to address the specific issues related to hate speech online.Chapter two provides a theoretical analysis of the regulation of hate speech online.Those who oppose hate speech online point out that,from the perspective of freedom of expression,the regulation of hate speech not online only infringes on freedom of expression,but also leads to a “chilling effect” and a “slippery slope effect”,and further argue that there is no direct causal relationship between online hate speech and harm.Thus,there is no basis for regulating hate speech online on the basis of harm.In fact,hate speech online not only violates the rights of individuals to equality,freedom,culture and dignity,but also hinders the development of society,disrupts international order,undermines social security guarantees and triggers violent conflicts.Regulating hate speech online does not diminish freedom of expression,but rather upholds a commitment to the core values of freedom of expression.In addition,regulating hate speech online promotes cultural diversity,ensures equality between communities,and has an informative and symbolic effect on society.Thus,there is a legitimate basis for regulating online hate speech.Chapter three addresses the dilemmas that arise in the regulation of hate speech online.The vicious game between the plurality of technology and the limited nature of law,and the blurring of the boundaries between public and private,has led to a dilemma for traditional law in regulating hate speech online.At the same time,the globalization of hate speech online is in conflict with the territoriality of the law,and laws within a country’s jurisdiction will not eliminate the effects of the globalization of hate speech online.In the international dimension,the ambiguity of the concept of international human rights law,the non-binding nature of the rules,and the lack of a unified enforcement agency are the main obstacles to regulating hate speech online.In the domestic level,the lack of systematic regulation,the top-down model of mandatory regulation,the noneffective interaction between legislation and judiciary,and the inadequately consider the differences between the internet and other media are the shortcomings in regulating hate speech online.In addition,a survey of Facebook,the world’s largest social media,reveals that self-regulation in the marketplace presents problems of vague regulatory standards,flawed tools and lack of transparency.Chapter four presents an analysis of the documents and judicial practices of the United Nations,regions and countries,which regulate hate speech online.The regulation of hate speech online by international organizations,represented by the UN,has moved from initial failed attempts to further restrictions.Regional human rights conventions have provided rich and concrete practical experience in regulating hate speech online,in particular the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights,which has confirmed the specific types of regulation and the factors to focus on.In addition,with the impact of hate speech online on the social order and politics of countries,it has become an important part of national network governance.Differences in constitutional values have led to considerable divergence in the regulation of hate speech online,which is reflected in the institutional choices of countries for regulating hate speech online The US emphasizes the absolute value of freedom of expression and grants greater tolerance to hate speech online,while countries such as Germany,France,South Africa,Australia and the UK impose strict restrictions on hate speech online.In addition,countries based on the values of ethnicity and cultural pluralism also impose varying degrees of restrictions on hate speech online.The international,regional and national approaches of regulating hate speech online constitute a systematic framework for regulating hate speech online.Exploring different legislation can provide rich materials for the interaction of international,regional and national experiences.Through the above analysis of the connotations,theories,and rules of online hate speech,Chapter 5 concludes with future directions of regulating hate speech online.Firstly,the global impact of hate speech online dictates that humanity must unite and act together,which requires us to build communities of destiny and maintain tolerance toward one another in cyberspace.At the same time,the social impact of hate speech online requires us to move from a focus on the individual to a focus on social justice.Secondly,the legal system is the most important safeguard for regulating hate speech on the Internet.International human rights law should learn from the experience of legislation of various countries to broaden the concept of hate speech online as much as possible,and to introduce a hierarchy of the content of online hate speech as well.Furthermore,attempts to establish extraterritorial human rights obligations can help overcome jurisdictional limitations.For States,in addition to complying with their primary human rights obligations under international treaties,the fulfillment of secondary obligations in support of a just international system is particularly important for the elimination of hate speech online.Increasing intervention in algorithms and the submission of speech to judicial adjudication are also ways to ensure that regulation of hate speech online is justified.As far as China is concerned,there is a need to move from ’internet regulation’ to’internet governance’ and to enact a law to improve the ecological content of the internet and to clarify the criteria and procedures for censoring hate speech on the internet.In addition to laws,social norms and ethical culture are equally important in regulating online hate speech and protecting human rights.Therefore,coordinating the participation of multiple actors in the fight against hate speech online can be beneficial.Online platform companies are the main actors in regulating hate speech online,therefore the distressing disparity of hate speech on the Internet,is evitable to some extent if the human rights standards are established for Online platform companies.Other subjects of society should also join the fight of regulating hate speech online through social dialogue.Finally,for individuals,education not only contributes to mainting tolerance,but also promotes self-examination and even self-regulation,which could reduce the possibility of hate speech online.