Unpacking the Debate Over Hate Speech Regulation: Neutrality, Freedom, and Equality
Paloma Viejo Otero · 2024
Abstract This second chapter unpacks the journey of hate speech regulation before it arrived on social media platforms. Initially, hate speech governance was conceptualised as a legal and regulatory measure to combat discrimination. Over time, it has evolved into a mechanism for controlling content on user-generated platforms. The analysis highlights five pivotal moments: the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1946–1948), debates on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (1964–1969), the US campus hate speech debates (1980s–1990s), discussions within the European Union about hate speech (1989–2010) and strategies by social media platforms to address hate speech since 2016. These moments are crucial in understanding the legislative and regulatory precedents that influence current policies on social media platforms. Additionally, by delving into the sociocultural dimensions of the hate speech debate, the analysis reveals the complexities of power relations, debates and struggles among actors involved in regulating hate speech over time, and how these affect understandings and definitions of hate speech regulation. This chapter pays special attention to the roles and visions of the Soviet Union and Critical Race Theory groups, highlighting their contributions to a communal, postcolonial and internationalist sociopolitical imaginary advocating for equality, emancipation and anti-discrimination, and thus for regulation that tackles hatred. In light of this, this chapter aims to reclaim the value of sidelined arguments that sought to align hate speech regulation with social justice, emphasising the multifaceted interpretations of essential values like freedom, equality and security throughout these debates.