Topics / Technology and speech
Should hate speech laws be strengthened or loosened?
UK law restricts some forms of expression that target people because of characteristics such as race, religion, sexual orientation, disability or transgender identity, with different rules in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. People disagree about whether these laws should be extended and enforced more strongly, kept broadly as they are, or narrowed so that only incitement to violence and direct threats are criminal.
Positions
- Strengthen: Hateful speech that targets people for who they are causes real harm, intimidates whole communities and can help fuel violence. UK law should protect all targeted groups consistently and be enforced more effectively, especially online.
- Keep as is: The current UK framework, which criminalises threatening speech and the intentional stirring up of hatred while expressly protecting criticism, satire and robust debate, broadly strikes the right balance. Problems are best fixed through better enforcement and guidance rather than new or repealed offences.
- Loosen: UK speech laws are too broad and vague and are being used against lawful, if offensive, expression. Only speech that incites violence, or that amounts to a direct threat or harassment, should be criminal; offensive or hateful opinions should be answered by argument, not prosecution.