Fortunately the target, Lars Hedegaard, was not injured. The BBC reported Feb. 5: Mr Hedegaard heads Denmark’s Free Press Society, which argues that religious and ideological interests are threatening freedom of expression. He also heads the International Free Press Society, founded in 2009, which launched an international campaign to support the Dutch anti-Islam politician Geert […]
Archive | “Hate Speech”
Crime to Create a “Hostile Environment” That “Substantially Interferes” with Person’s “Psychological Well-Being” Based on Race, Religion, Sex, Etc.?
That’s what this New Mexico bill would provide: BULLYING.– A. Bullying consists of a pattern of intentional conduct, including physical, verbal, written or electronic communication, that creates a hostile environment and substantially interferes with another person’s physical or psychological well-being and that is: (1) motivated by an actual or perceived personal characteristic, including race, national […]
More on the Indian State’s Censorship of the Spy Thriller That Was Supposedly Offensive to Muslims
I blogged about this Thursday, under the heading Indian State Government Temporarily Blocks Release of Spy Thriller, Citing Fear of Riots by Muslims. I thought I’d note two follow-ups: First, director Kamal Haasan has “agreed to seven demands of Muslim leaders, mostly muting of the audio of portions objected to by them,” and it now […]
Indian State Government Temporarily Blocks Release of Spy Thriller, Citing Fear of Riots by Muslims
By Eugene Volokh on January 31, 2013 4:24 pm in "Hate Speech", Freedom of Speech Restricted by Thugs
Agence France-Presse reports: The southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu on Thursday defended its ban on a new film …. Spy thriller “Vishwaroopam” was forced out of cinemas after Muslim groups complained that they were portrayed in a negative light …. Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister Jayalalithaa Jayaram said her government was forced to impose the […]
Virginia Revocation of Plaintiff’s “ICUHAJI” License Plate Is Unconstitutionally Viewpoint-Discriminatory
So holds Bujno v. Commonwealth (Va. Cir. Nov. 2, 2012), which was just posted on Westlaw. The court concluded that the license plate program was a “nonpublic forum” in which the government could restrict speech based on subject matter but not based on viewpoint (a view adopted by other courts as well), and held that […]
Are Liberal or Conservative Justices More Likely to Protect “Hate Speech”?
By Eugene Volokh on November 19, 2012 6:02 pm in "Hate Speech", Liberal vs. Conservative Attitudes on Free Speech, Supreme Court
I blogged yesterday about whether liberal or conservative Americans are more likely to support protections for various kinds of speech, including speech arguing that blacks are genetically inferior — the General Social Survey question that’s most relevant to the debate about protection for supposed “hate speech.” It turns out that liberals are somewhat more likely […]
U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Testimony on the First Amendment and Anti-Muslim/Anti-Islam Speech
By Eugene Volokh on November 9, 2012 3:15 pm in "Hate Speech", Blasphemy, Freedom of Speech at Colleges and Universities, Freedom of Speech Restricted by Thugs, Hostile Environment Harassment Law
I was invited to testify on this subject at today’s U.S. Commission on Civil Rights briefing on Federal Civil Rights Engagement with the Arab and Muslim American Communities Post 9/11, so I thought I’d pass along my written remarks. You can read them in PDF form here, or in plain text below (though without the […]
Quite the Speech Code
By Eugene Volokh on October 8, 2012 4:23 pm in "Hate Speech", Freedom of Speech at Colleges and Universities
FIRE’s Speech Code of the Month, from SUNY – New Paltz: This policy applies to all members of the campus community, individuals doing business with the campus, any person utilizing campus facilities. This will include SUNY New Paltz’s campus, any off-site facilities, and work-related travel…. Examples of Prohibited Conduct … Distribution, display or discussion of […]
Daniel Baer (U.S. State Department) on Freedom of Speech and Hostility to Religions
A generally very good discussion, I think, from a State Department online press conference on Sept. 27. One can debate whether or not some of the condemnation of certain kinds of speech might go a bit far (though it doesn’t go as far, I think, as the general condemnation of “denigration of religion” that I […]
Did a Justice Department Official “Refuse to Denounce Demands for Saudi-style Blasphemy Law”?
Several people have pointed me to a July 26, 2012 video excerpt of Rep. Trent Franks questioning Thomas Perez (the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division) about whether the Justice Department would commit to “never entertain or advance a proposal that criminalizes speech against any religion”; Perez, it was claimed, refused to commit […]
Administration Seeks to Have “Innocence of Muslims” Removed from YouTube
By Jonathan H. Adler on September 14, 2012 2:38 pm in "Hate Speech", Blasphemy, Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Speech Restricted by Thugs
The LA Times reports: Administration officials have asked YouTube to review a controversial video that many blame for spurring a wave of anti-American violence in the Middle East. The administration flagged the 14-minute “Innocence of Muslims” video and asked that YouTube evaluate it to determine whether it violates the site’s terms of service, officials said […]
“[National Hispanic Media Coalition] Renews Call for Federal Government to Study Hate Speech in Media”
So says a Coalition press release. Some excerpts: Tomorrow the NHMC will file letters with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), sharing this new poll data and renewing unanswered requests that NHMC made back in 2009 for the agencies to study the impacts of hate speech in media. […]
Former Yale Dean Harold Koh (Now Legal Adviser at the State Department) on Dealing with “Hate Speech” by “Applying … the Transnationalist Approach to Judicial Interpretation”
Related to my post about Prof. Peter Spiro’s views on how international law could be used to diminish the force of U.S. First Amendment protection, I thought I’d note again some thoughts that I noted in 2009 from Harold Koh, former dean of Yale Law School and now Legal Adviser at the State Department, in […]
Prof. Peter Spiro on Why “Hate Speech” Should Be “Ban[ned]” in the U.S. — and on How It Might Be Done, Using International Law
By Eugene Volokh on September 13, 2012 11:27 am in "Hate Speech", Blasphemy, Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Speech Restricted by Thugs
From yesterday’s Opinion Juris post by Prof. Peter Spiro, one of the leading international law scholars in the country: The deplorable killing of Chris Stevens in Libya suggests a foreign relations law rationale for banning hate speech. Remember, the Benghazi protests were prompted by this film depicting the prophet Mohammed in not very flattering terms. […]
“University of California Jewish Student Campus Climate Fact-Finding Team” Calls for Banning “Hate Speech”
By Eugene Volokh on August 11, 2012 1:52 pm in "Hate Speech", Freedom of Speech at Colleges and Universities
Fortunately, it appears that UC President Mark Yudof — a noted First Amendment scholar — is not going along with this. Here’s the relevant passage, which the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education rightly condemns: 2) UC should adopt a hate speech-free campus policy. While many campuses have adopted hate-free campaigns or issued commitments affirming […]