The AGE Europe platform reports unprecedented levels of age discrimination and hate speech since the outbreak of COVID-19, footnote 30, which was also condemned by the UN Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons. Footnote 31 FRA`s 2020 report, aptly titled “A Long Road to LGBTI Equality”, also highlights the high levels of violence and harassment faced by LGBTI communities. and among them especially trans and intersex people. Transgender and intersex people were more likely to experience physical or sexual violence (17% and 22%, respectively) or harassment (48% and 42%, respectively) in the past five years than LGBTI people in general (11% and 38%, respectively). Footnote 32 The prevalence of these crimes contributes to the seriousness of hate crimes against these communities. While in 2018 sexual orientation was the second most common cause of hate speech by civil society organisations monitoring the implementation of the EU Code of Conduct to counter illegal hate speech online (15.6%), the number of hate speech based on sexual orientation rose to first place (33.1%) in 2019. Footnote 33 The digital services package, including the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act presented by the European Commission in December 2020, aim to address new digital challenges, including online hate speech. The European Commission is today presenting an initiative to extend the list of “EU crimes” to hate speech and hate crime, as announced by President von der Leyen in her 2020 State of the Union address. The organization responsible for enforcing hate speech is the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (Comité para la Eliminación de la Discriminación Racial). [doubtful – discuss] This committee is headed by the Convención Internacional sobre la Eliminación de todas las Formas de Discriminación Racial. [84] In an article published in 2011, she expressed concern about the persistence of stereotypical and unhealthy racial attitudes towards Maghreb and Latin American communities living in Spain.

[85] The Committee called on the government to act and develop a national strategy to combat racism, xenophobia and their social consequences. On the other hand, political hate speech should be given special attention. While the Commission`s roadmap for the initiative to extend the EU list of offences to hate speech and hate crime does not pay particular attention to political hate speech as such, political hate speech as such, it is particularly insidious and damaging due to its impact, for example for the normalisation of such speech, desensitization of the public and inspiration to speak and act in the same way. While it may in principle be difficult to combat this type of hate speech differently from other types of hate speech, and in particular more difficult than other types of hate speech – since political speech is privileged in the case law of the European Court of Human Rights (footnote 90) – concerns about this type of hate speech are justified and increasingly expressed. Footnote 91 In July 2019, Laetitia Avia proposed legislation to combat hate speech on social media. The Avia law was adopted on May 13, 2020. It requires websites to remove content containing hate speech within 24 hours of publication. Failure to do so is punishable by one year in prison and a fine of up to 15,000 euros.

[28] On June 18, 2020, the French Constitutional Council rejected most of the bill. [29] The European Commission supports national authorities and civil society organisations dealing with hate speech and hate crime under the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme. For more information on upcoming calls for tenders, please visit the CERV website. However, it is not a binding legal document, nor does it solve the problem of all hate speech on the Internet, although the removal of illegal content may help temporarily and in part, and such a soft political approach has proven effective to some extent. The fifth most recent set of notifications shows that, on average, 90% of notifications are reviewed within 24 hours and 71% of content is removed. However, national organisations sending notifications to participating IT companies about content considered to be `illegal hate speech` are limited to the definition of such statements in the national legislation transposing Framework Decision 2008/913/JHA – which may limit the scope and limit hate speech to the prohibited grounds set out in the Framework Decision. (ec.europa.eu/info/policies/justice-and-fundamental-rights/combatting-discrimination/racism-and-xenophobia/eu-code-conduct-countering-illegal-hate-speech-online_en). The latter, according to Equinet, also reflects differences in the “sensitivity of the courts to this issue between jurisdictions.” The differences in the reasons given in each country, which in some cases are very limited, are, according to Equinet, “another dimension of the failure of legislation to reflect the lived experience of vulnerable groups affected by hate speech”. Equinet, “Equinet`s submission to the European Commission`s initiative `Extension of the EU crime list to hate speech and hate crime`” (2021), p. 5. Hateful, biased or discriminatory speech committed online can spread even more easily. The ease of access, perceived anonymity that breaks inhibitions and, more recently, the increase in time spent online during detention stimulate them more.

Based on its polls, FRA sadly stated that online hate “has taken root in European societies”. Footnote 34 Social media, particularly Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, report a staggering number of posts and comments that they have removed due to hate speech, and that are still inadequate. Footnote 35 In Switzerland, public discrimination or resentment against individuals or groups of individuals on the basis of their race or ethnic origin is punishable by up to three years` imprisonment or a fine.