A proposal that could make hate speech a criminal offence has been stalled and is unlikely to pass before the election. The Government fast-tracked a review of hate speech legislation in the wake of the March 15 Christchurch terror attack last year. Justice Minister Andrew Little declared existing legislation on the issue “woefully inadequate.” Following Read more
A new wave of posters and stickers promoting a recently-launched white nationalist group have been spotted at Auckland university this week. A spokesperson for the university has described the group’s views as abhorrent but said they are protected by freedom of speech. Read more
A Jewish civil rights organisation has added the index finger-to-thumb “OK” sign to its database of “Hate on Display” symbols. The suspected white supremacist in Christchurch, New Zealand, accused of killing 51 worshippers “OK” hand gesture during an initial court appearance. Read more
Megan Phelps-Roper, a former member of the infamous Westboro Baptist Church, the subject of some of Louis’ most famous documentaries, will make a special appearance with Louis on stage in Auckland. Phelps-Roper is the granddaughter of Fred Phelps, founder of the Westboro Baptist Church known for picketing funerals of U.S. service members. Since leaving the Read more
The claim a New Zealand academic’s latest book has been banned may be a little over-egged, but a publisher’s interpretation of international hate speech laws is an interesting example of the current global tensions between free speech and hate speech. Read more
Social media giant Facebook ran into determined opposition after describing a St Augustine quote as “hate speech” and removing it from its site. Domenico Bettinelli, a pro-life activist from Massachusetts, immediately wrote a blog post about Facebook taking down the Divine Office passage. Facebook had said it took it down because it violated Facebook’s “Community Read more
Twitter is moving to filter out inappropriate content based on religion as part of its effort to curb hate speech. In a policy update on Tuesday, Twitter said it would take down “dehumanising language” that targets specific religious groups. Examples of the type of language that would be removed would be the description of a Read more
Following the Christchurch massacre, Justice Minister Andrew Little announced a review of our hate speech laws. Little wants the review to focus on “whether our laws properly balance the issues of freedom of speech and hate speech”. He seems to want a bob each way on this question. On the one hand, he has defended free Read more
Prime minister Jacinda Ardern has told Newshub that her government won’t ban criticism of religious groups, but it is reviewing whether New Zealand laws go far enough in stopping violence against them. Both ACT party leader David Seymour and Destiny Church leader Brian Tamaki appear to agree that people should be allowed to express their Read more
The Human Rights Commission wants the government to consider changing the law to protect religious groups against hate speech. Justice minister Andrew Little has announced he will be fast-tracking a review of the laws. However, unlike changes to gun laws, which look set to pass with near unanimity, changes to hate speech legislation could be Read more