Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Towards a Definition of Hate Speech : With a Focus on Online Contexts

Hietanen, Mika LU orcid and Eddebo, Johan (2023) In Journal of communication Inquiry 47(4). p.440-458
Abstract
As legislators and platforms tackle the challenge of suppressing hate speech online, questions about its definition remain unresolved. In this review we discuss three issues: What are the main challenges encountered when defining hate speech? What alternatives are there for the definition of hate speech? What is the relationship between the nature and scope of the definition and its operationability? By tracing both efforts to regulate and to define hate speech in legal, paralegal, and tech platform contexts, we arrive at four possible modes of definition: teleological,pure consequentialist, formal, and consensus or relativist definitions. We suggest the need for a definition where hate speech encompasses those speech acts that tend... (More)
As legislators and platforms tackle the challenge of suppressing hate speech online, questions about its definition remain unresolved. In this review we discuss three issues: What are the main challenges encountered when defining hate speech? What alternatives are there for the definition of hate speech? What is the relationship between the nature and scope of the definition and its operationability? By tracing both efforts to regulate and to define hate speech in legal, paralegal, and tech platform contexts, we arrive at four possible modes of definition: teleological,pure consequentialist, formal, and consensus or relativist definitions. We suggest the need for a definition where hate speech encompasses those speech acts that tend towards certain ethically proscribed ends, which are destructive in terms of their consequences, and express certain ideas that are transgressions of specific ethical norms. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
hate speech, ethical norms, freedom of speech, social media regulation, hate speech definition
in
Journal of communication Inquiry
volume
47
issue
4
pages
19 pages
publisher
SAGE Publications
external identifiers
  • scopus:85139455921
ISSN
0196-8599
DOI
10.1177/01968599221124309
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
31944912-fc1a-4919-b7de-1e4923240217
date added to LUP
2022-09-22 13:55:08
date last changed
2023-08-25 14:57:03
@article{31944912-fc1a-4919-b7de-1e4923240217,
  abstract     = {{As legislators and platforms tackle the challenge of suppressing hate speech online, questions about its definition remain unresolved. In this review we discuss three issues: What are the main challenges encountered when defining hate speech? What alternatives are there for the definition of hate speech? What is the relationship between the nature and scope of the definition and its operationability? By tracing both efforts to regulate and to define hate speech in legal, paralegal, and tech platform contexts, we arrive at four possible modes of definition: teleological,pure consequentialist, formal, and consensus or relativist definitions. We suggest the need for a definition where hate speech encompasses those speech acts that tend towards certain ethically proscribed ends, which are destructive in terms of their consequences, and express certain ideas that are transgressions of specific ethical norms.}},
  author       = {{Hietanen, Mika and Eddebo, Johan}},
  issn         = {{0196-8599}},
  keywords     = {{hate speech; ethical norms; freedom of speech; social media regulation; hate speech definition}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{08}},
  number       = {{4}},
  pages        = {{440--458}},
  publisher    = {{SAGE Publications}},
  series       = {{Journal of communication Inquiry}},
  title        = {{Towards a Definition of Hate Speech : With a Focus on Online Contexts}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/01968599221124309}},
  doi          = {{10.1177/01968599221124309}},
  volume       = {{47}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}