Racist hate-speech on social media: where is the (punishable) line?
In today's society, anyone with an Internet connection can send any message into the world. This digital revolution sometimes causes problems, especially when it comes to racism. It can happen that someone, impulsively or not, posts a misplaced or even punishable reaction to a message without thinking of the possible consequences.
On this issue, the European Court of Human Rights issued a particularly interesting judgment on September 2, 2021. In this judgment, the Court rules on the compatibility of the right to freedom of expression (art. 10 ECHR) and the criminal responsibility of the administrator of a facebook page.
For the occasion of this ruling, we must go back to Oct. 24, 2011. On that day, a local French politician posted a photo on his public Facebook page. To this, two people responded in a way that portrayed the Muslim community in a very bad light. The politician failed to remove the posts and the French criminal court sentenced not only the two individuals responsible for the racist remarks, but also the politician himself to a fine for inciting hatred or violence against a group of persons on the basis of their religion.
The Court saw no holes in the decision of the French criminal court and ruled that the French politician's right to free speech had not been violated. In the past, the Court already accepted that the administrator of a news site can be criminalized based on the comments left by others on his wall. With this ruling, the Court seems to extend the same line to private individuals. In this way, therefore, anyone will have to keep a close eye on the reactions to their social media posts.
This ruling also affects the application of the Anti-racism law in Belgium. Under Art. 22 of the Antiracism Act, it is punishable to belong to a group or association that manifestly and repeatedly proclaims discrimination or segregation on account of one of the protected criteria, in the circumstances referred to in Article 444 of the Criminal Code, or to cooperate with such a group or association. It is established case law in Belgium that a Facebook page meets the disclosure requirements under article 444 of the Criminal Code. Thus, based on this provision, the administrator of a Facebook page that knowingly provides a platform for racist and hateful messages can also be prosecuted.
Would you like more information about this or to be assisted by a specialized lawyer? Please feel free to contact us at info@bannister.be or at 03.369.28.00.
