Tackling online hate speech

‘Just Speech’ is a research project led by Dr Talita Dias, the Shaw Foundation Junior Research Fellow at Jesus College, University of Oxford. It explores the phenomenon of online hate speech and its regulation under international law.

The Phenomenon

Hate speech is not a new phenomenon. It has been a constant, if not inescapable feature of mass atrocities committed at least since the 20th century. Simply put, atrocities and human rights abuses do not happen in a vacuum but are triggered and fuelled by hateful rhetoric.

In the digital age, the impact of hate speech within and beyond national borders has been unprecedented. With the advent of the Internet and social media platforms, in particular, content can now be disseminated by individual users with a speed, scale and directness never seen before. Its effects have been felt in developed and developing countries alike. 

One of the key challenges of regulating hate speech in international law lies in the wide variety of speech acts and effects, ranging from ‘mere’ expressions of hatred to incitement to violence, each having a distinct legal implication.

This challenge is compounded in the online environment. On the one hand, information and communications technologies have massively increased opportunities for expressing one’s views and receiving information freely, as well as the exercise of other individual freedoms so dependent, such as the right to freedom of opinion, to participate in democratic processes, and to protest. On the other hand, the pervasiveness of the Internet may also amplify the negative impact of hate speech and other harmful acts, leading to greater hostility, division, and violence in societies.

The project aims to

- Unpack the different ways in which speech can be used to spread hate or cause harm to individuals.

- Piece together the rules of international law that apply to different types of online hate speech – from human rights instruments to international crimes.

- Advise governments, online platforms, users and civil society organisations on their legal responsibilities and the means to discharge them, from content moderation to counter-speech and awareness-raising campaigns.