Article 19 of the Indian Constitution guarantees every citizen ‘the right to freedom of opinion and expression’, including ‘the right to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers’. However, one of the most controversial arguments around free speech today is whether it includes ‘hate speech’.
The challenges around regulating hate speech are further compounded when it comes to online platforms. This includes the lack of global consensus on the limits of free speech; a lack of suitable legislation, or clarity on jurisdictional issues; and the resistance of social media platforms to regulate free speech.
While hate speech online dates back to anti-Semitic ‘bulletin boards’ in the 1980s (Smith 2017), it witnessed a significant increase across the globe during the COVID-19 pandemic. Between March and June 2020, data from India, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia, showed a 168% increase in misogynistic social media posts on Facebook and Twitter, and engagement with these posts (likes, comments, shares) compared to the same period in 2019 (UN Women 2021). The majority of misogynistic tweets came from India. Hate speech against Dalits also saw a spike. A recent study showed that 13% of posts with hate content on Facebook India were caste-based. (Soundararajan et al., 2019).
The paper explores the reasons for the sharp increase in hate speech. It also delves into the psychology of hate and why groups like women, Dalits, and minorities are being specifically targeted. In addition to understanding the real-world impact of hate speech, this paper also attempts an analysis of why these groups are vulnerable, and whether the law can be effective in curbing hate speech.
