Towards a Definition of Hate Speech : With a Focus on Online Contexts
(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:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/31944912-fc1a-4919-b7de-1e4923240217
- author
- Hietanen, Mika LU and Eddebo, Johan
- organization
- publishing date
- 2023-08-20
- 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}}, }