Minorities, Free Speech and the Internet

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.

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.