Answer:
Explanation:
Hate speech is a controversial and often misinterpreted term for speech intended to degrade, intimidate, or incite violence or prejudicial action against an individual or a group of individuals based on their race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, or disability. The term has been taken to cover written as well as oral communication.
My starting position is that hate speech is not just one thing; there can be at least four categories of hate speech that we can address.
By the end of this essay I hope to have shown sufficiently which, if any, types of hate speech could be protected by the right of free speech.
Right to free speech and expression
Perhaps in a different era, the two could be seen as distinct, not just by name, but also in context.[1]
The right of free speech is a human, political or civil right recognised and appreciated by states and their citizens. It is the right to communicate one’s opinions and ideas using one’s body and property to anyone who is willing to receive them. It was included in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.[2]
Although freedom of expression is sometimes used within an identical context, it nevertheless includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used.
Perhaps the most commonly cited definition is the one given by the United Nations in Art.19 of their UDHR[3] adopted in 1948.[4]
Along the same lines, Art.10 of theECHR[5]provides the right to freedom of expression, subject to certain restrictions that are “in accordance with law” and “necessary in a democratic society”.
It is important to appreciate that the two are largely intertwined, and to be read separately would be of no particular value or help. For the purposes of this essay, I shall regard the two rights as two faces on the same side of a coin.
