Minorities, Free Speech and the Internet explores the regulation of free speech online and offline.

    Views are divided as to how much regulation of the Internet is appropriate. Some argue that it should be an unregulated space for free content. On the other hand, in many democracies, online hate speech, harassment and xenophobia are prohibited and punished. This book provides a forum for leading international scholars to address domestic and comparative dimensions of this complex legal conundrum. First, the authors analyse the free speech and Internet regulations in different legal cultures, including the United States, Europe, China and Russia. Second, they study fake news, extreme right speech and the implications of hate speech on pluralistic society. Third, they examine different case law addressing minority sensibilities, historical discriminations, offensive propaganda and other issues particularly concerning minorities and free speech.

    This book will be of interest to students and scholars interested in the topics of hate speech and minorities, democracy, misinformation and debates about the Internet, as well as political science researchers.

    Part I: Introduction

    1. Introduction: Minorities, Free Speech and the Internet – An Overview

    Oscar Pérez de la Fuente

    Part II: Legal Cultures on Free Speech and Internet

    2. Democratic Values and the Regulation of Hate Speech

    Alexander Tsesis

    3. Freedom of Speech, Minorities, and the Internet from the European Perspective: Words Matter

    Jędrzej Skrzypczak

    4. Free Speech and Internet: Is There a New Interpretation for Human Rights? With Particular Reference to Chinese and Russian Approaches on Internet Regulations

    Oscar Pérez de la Fuente

    Part III: Democracy, Hate Speech and (Mis)information

    5. Manipulation and the First Amendment

    Helen Norton

    6. Fake News Published during the Pre-Election Period and Free Speech Theory

    Filimon Peonidis

    7. Misinformation and Hate Speech: When Bad Becomes Even Worse

    Gustavo Ferreira Santos

    8. Sexist Hate Speech against Women: Towards a Regulatory Model

    Irene Spigno

    9. Artificial Intelligence and Hate Speech

    Migle Laukyte

    Part IV: Free Speech and Minorities

    10. Disentangling "Cancel Culture"

    David S. Han

    11. Government Speech and Minority Rights: The American View

    William D. Araiza

    12. SLAPP: Between the Right to a Fair Trial and the Chilling Effect in Favour of Free Speech

    Jędrzej Skrzypczak

    13. The Freedom of Speech and the Protection of Religious Feelings: The Case of Dorota Rabczewska – Comparative Analysis

    Tomasz Litwin

    Part V: Conclusion

    14. Conclusion

    Alexander Tsesis and Jędrzej Skrzypczak

    Biography

    Oscar Pérez de la Fuente is Associate Professor of Philosophy of Law and Political Philosophy in the Department of International and Ecclesiastical Law and Philosophy of Law and in the "Gregorio Peces-Barba" Human Rights Institute at Carlos III University of Madrid, Spain. He has written on cultural pluralism, free speech and legal interpretation. He is Coordinator of the "Cultural pluralism and rights of minorities" workshop, and Chair of the Research Committee 26 on Human Rights of the International Political Science Association.

    Alexander Tsesis is the Raymond & Mary Simon Chair in Constitutional Law and Professor of Law at the Loyola University in Chicago, United States, and a Visiting Professor at George Washington University Law School, United States. He has written on cyber speech, constitutional interpretation, civil rights law and human rights. His scholarship focuses on a breadth of subjects, including constitutional law, civil rights, constitutional reconstruction, interpretive methodology, free speech theory and legal history.

    Jędrzej Skrzypczak is Head of the Department of Media Systems and Press Law in the Faculty of Political Science and Journalism at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan, Poland. In 2016 and 2022, he was nominated as an official candidate for the National Broadcasting Board by the coalition of opposition parties. He is Chair-elect of the Research Committee 26 on Human Rights of the International Political Science Association and Vice President of the Polish Press Law Association.

    Reviewed as part of 'What Went Wrong?: The Onset of an Age of Discontent', Adrian Guelke, Queen’s University Belfast, UK, writing in Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, 2024, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13537113.2024.2316483