United Kingdom
摘要
The United Kingdom has a complex array of statutes which can be used to tackle online hate speech. However, these laws were not designed with the internet in mind, and as such, they are unwieldy and difficult to use against perpetrators of online hate. In recent years, the focus of policy makers has shifted towards holding platforms accountable for the material they host, and the Online Safety Act 2023 has been enacted accordingly. In parallel to this, fears about the impact of online hate speech have manifested themselves in social media controversies, such as that surrounding ‘cancel culture’. These discussions have little to do with the law itself, and are linked to broader concerns about the coarsening of public debate and the polarisation of views on social media.