'Hate speech' on Facebook and Twitter is 'not protected by the right to freedom of expression', says Supreme Court
Sunday, November 6, 2016 @ 10:53 PM
INCITEMENT to hatred on social networks is not covered by the Constitutional right to 'freedom of speech', Spain's Supreme Court has found.
The case in question relates to a Facebook and Twitter user who made comments in support of ETA's 40-year reign of terror, but the definition of 'hate speech' has been found to cover death wishes against any public figurehead, racism, homophobia or 'Islamophobia'.
The accused in question, referring to Basque councillor Miguel Ángel Blanco, who was shot dead on live TV after being kidnapped by ETA in 1997, had written: “I don't feel sorry for Blanco, I feel sorry for families whose homes are repossessed by the banks.”
Behaviour 'of this tenor' does not 'deserve the coverage of fundamental rights', said a Supreme Court judge, and constitutes a 'criminal offence'.
“Terrorism constitutes the most serious breach of human rights of members of the community who suffer it,” the verdict reads.
“Objectively, the words used in this case constitute an attack on certain victims, and the lauding and encouragement of terrorism is something nobody can escape from.
“The explanations given subsequently by the author cannot remove this sentiment from them, because said explanations were not present in the message which was read by numerous recipients, who were unable to read these additional mitigating comments.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com