Fighting Hate Speech through EU Law

Abstract

<p>This article explores the rise of the European ‘First Amendment’ beyond national and Strasbourg law, offering a fresh look into the previously under-theorised issue of hate speech in EU law. Building its argument on (1) the scrutiny of fundamental rights protection, (2) the distinction between commercial and non-commercial speech, and, finally, (3) the looking glass of <em>critical race theory</em>, the paper demonstrates how the judgment of the ECJ in the <em>Feryn</em> case implicitly<em> </em>consolidated legal narratives on hate speech in Europe. In this way, the paper reconstructs the dominant European theory of freedom of expression via rhetorical and victim-centered constitutional analysis, bearing important ethical implications for European integration.</p><p> </p>

Keywords

• EU law
• non-discrimination
• hate speech
• fundamental rights protection
• freedom of expression
• race theory
• ECJ
• European integration