Euro hate-speech laws pose a threat to civil liberties

Ireland has a new taoiseach (pronounced tee-shuck) — a new prime minister. His name is Simon Harris and he’s the youngest taoiseach in the nation’s history.

However, the Irish people — and their Irish eyes — are not smiling. In truth, many are disillusioned, despondent and downright dissatisfied. That’s because Harris, 37, is just more of the same: another talking head who fails to reflect the wishes of average Irish citizens. This is a man, after all, in his previous role as Minister for Justice, who allowed transgender females to be detained in the same prisons as biological females. Back in 2019, meanwhile, Harris, then Minister of Health, was criticized for doing little to address a hospital overcrowding crisis that brought, and continues to bring, Ireland to its knees. 

A fan of taking to TikTok to spread his own brand of wokeness, Harris is a staunch supporter of a new “hate speech” bill that poses a direct threat to Irish civil liberties. If signed into effect, it will grant outsized power to prosecutors, making it easier to secure convictions against those deemed guilty of committing various “sins.” Specifically, unlike the current law — which allows defendants to appeal by proving their lack of intention to spread hatred — the new legislation will hold defendants accountable even if their actions were unintentional. 

The proposed legislation includes a number of “protected characteristics” like race, gender, religion and sexual orientation.  Surveys indicate that approximately 75% of Irish citizens oppose the law. Harris, however, is firmly in the 25% camp. He recently rejected calls to scrap the legislation, stating that the bill is appropriate for its intended purpose. It’s not — unless the purpose is to scare the Irish people into submission. And Ireland is hardly the only nation today where the right to free speech is being unraveled. 

The European Parliament recently approved a report urging the Council of Europe,  an international human rights organization, to categorize hate speech and hate crime as “Euro crimes.” This means that offensive speech in one EU-member state could potentially become a criminal offense that all member states are required to incorporate into their legal frameworks. 

Then there’s Scotland, where a new hate crime law even worse than what is being proposed in Ireland has just been passed. Specifically, the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act of 2021 has been updated. Lawmakers have introduced a fresh offense known as “inciting hatred” in relation to age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity, or being intersex.

The maximum punishment for this offense is a prison term of seven years and behavior deemed “insulting” is also included in the bill. Most worrisome, the prosecution only needs to establish that inciting hatred was “likely” rather than “intended.” In other words, the language is vague and the consequences for offenders severe — even if offense was in no way the intention. 

The origin of modern day hate speech laws date back to a time when Communism cast an ominous shadow across the west. Back then, liberal democracies were all for individual rights and basic freedoms — they’re what set us apart from the reds. 

Today, however, it’s western nations like Ireland and Scotland curtailing those same basic freedoms. 

The effect of this silencing shift is being felt on newer democracies as well. Poland’s new leftist government, for instance, has recently introduced a “hate speech” censorship law. If passed, those found guilty could face up to three years in prison for making offensive comments. Like Scotland and Ireland, Poland’s proposed legislation focuses on hate speech toward “protected classes” such as sexual orientation and gender identity, along with age and disability. 

While no citizen should be forced to endure verbal harassment,  the new wave of “hate speech” laws sweeping across Europe have an eerie feel to them. They appear to be more about conformity and control than keeping people safe. If anything, their focus on outcome rather than intent simply leaves folks living in fear. Perhaps, worse of all,  the inevitable ‘hate speech’ investigations will only distract law enforcement from attending to far more serious crimes.

In Scotland, the police force is struggling with the financial implications of their new law, with over 6,000 complaint calls logged since its introduction on April 1. This surge in reports not only takes up officers’ time, it may also result in police budget cuts. Scotland is already plagued by violent crime, and the country’s police force is experiencing its lowest personnel count since the establishment of Police Scotland in 2013. Ireland is also grappling with similar recruitment and retention challenges. 

Hate speech laws won’t help the average citizen in either of these countries feel safer — or freer. Then again, perhaps they were never designed to help these people in the first place. They are designed to give more power to elites and special interests, and silence anyone who dares speak out.

Europe doesn’t have a monopoly on this madness. In Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government recently implemented new legislation targeting online abuse, which includes severe consequences for hate crimes, including life imprisonment for inciting genocide.

Closer to home, state Attorney General Letitia James has led New York’s efforts to pass sweeping hate speech laws that would, if signed into effect, pose a direct threat to New Yorkers’ First Amendment rights. Hate speech is consuming the West. Brace yourself, and be sure to watch your mouth.