Protecting Both Sides of the Conversation: Towards a Clear International Standard for Hate Speech Regulation
Meera Chandramouli · Penn Carey Law Legal Scholarship Repository (University of Pennsylvania) · 2013
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution represents a wholehearted commitment to an individual’s right to free expression.1 Historically, the Supreme Court has permitted the abridgment of that right only in very particular circumstances. In the majority of its decisions, the Court has adopted a speechprotective stance, prioritizing an individual’s contribution to the common marketplace of ideas over government intervention.2 The notion is that the addition of any idea, even if it is disfavored, outlandish, or small-minded, to society helps to preserve an atmosphere of robust public debate.3 The international community, in contrast, is warier of the externalities that accompany unchecked free expression and has, as