Hate Speech Flashcards
What is hate speech
speech intended to insult, offend, or intimidate because of some trait
What is the sedition act
Words and publications with seditious tendency
- against govt
- among residents in SG
- promote feelings of ill will and hostility between races or classes of the population
Tendency, not actual effect, is required
Intention is not required
What are the penalties for Sedition Act?
- Prison 2. Fine for
words, acts, pub;icaitions
Used against hate speech since 2005
What are hate speech laws before amendments in 2019?
- Sedition Act: Tendency to promote ill-will and hostility between races and classes of population
- Penal Code
S298: wound religious or racial feelings
S298A: maintenance of religious or racial harmony
S267C: incitement
What are the hate speech laws after amendments in 2019?
- Sedition Act
- Penal Code
S298: intentionally wound racial feelings
S298A: maintenance of racial harmony
S267C: incitement
How to know which law?
Proseuctor chooses whether to prosecute, which law to use
What is the MRHA? When did it come into effect?
Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act.
- knowingly incites feelings of illwill etc for a group in SG
- group is distinguished by religion
- knowing that feelings will likely to occur
- feelings will threaten public peace or public order
- intention not required, only knowledge
bar to prove is lower
What is incitement in SG?
- document or 2. electronic record of
incitement to violence or breach of peace
–> unrecorded live rally cannot be incitement
What is 298A?
Knowingly promotes feelings of enmity, hatred, or illwill between racial groups
What is 298?
With intention of wounding racial feelings of any person
What is incitement in the US?
IIIPLA Intentional Incitement Imminent Probable Lawless action
- not just advocating breaking the law
Regulating hate speech in America
violates the First Amendment
What are the exceptions to the First Amendment in the US?
Incitement
Fighting words
True threat
What are fighting words?
- words that a reasonable person would understand to be words that likely cause an average addressee to fight
- by their utterance, inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace
- personally directed –> not just general expression of dissatisfaction w govt
What are true threats?
- intent to injure
- told to victim
- reaction of recipient to threat
- conditional threat
- whether similar statements made before
- propensity for violence
Why should FoE be regulated?
if permitted, hate speech may
- weaken social bonds
- reinforce hate
- allow bigots to find each other
Why should FoE not be regulated
FoE may be a safety valve
- Bigots may discharge anger without violence
- channel resistance into courses more consistent with law and order
- Lead to more tolerance: immunity to hate speech, communities become stronger by dealing with hate by confronting it or ignoring it
What is the dominant SG view towards hate speech?
answers will not be found only through debate and discussion, sensible boundaries must also be drawn
What is the 3rd person effect?
perception that a message will exert stronger impavt on others than on self
- overestimate media impact on others
- underestimate media impact on self
What explains the 3rd person effect?
self-enhancement bias, human tendency to perceive self as superior to others
satisfies need for control, minimises impact of external factors on self
What is the consequence of the 3rd person effect?
support censorship
