OPINIONISTA: Hate speech Bill could be used to silence free speech By Pierre De Vos pierredevos
As I grow older, I have become more sceptical of the power of legislation to undo systemic forms of oppression and social and economic injustice. It is true that the law can sometimes provide relatively quick relief to individuals who have been wronged by somebody else – if those individuals have access to the requisite resources, of course.
Section 4 of the new Bill would change that.
Second example. Imagine that a white man criticises the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters and points out that Malema still faced possible prosecution for corruption, fraud and money laundering relating to government contracts his political allies secured in Limpopo. In response, an EFF supporter then tweets: “Go back to Europe, you bloody settler. You whites stole the land so you must shut up. No matter what you say, we are coming for your land.
Some of these examples illustrate a further problem with the Bill. As it currently reads, it does not take account of the fact that the impact of hateful speech on those who have suffered and continue to suffer from patterns of disadvantage and harm, will be far more severe than on those who are politically, socially and economically privileged and are not systematically subjugated because of their race, gender or sexuality.
This may potentially limit the possible impact of the crime of hate speech, but this may itself be a problem because it would grant almost unlimited discretion for prosecutors to decide when to prosecute and when not. The principle of legality requires legislation that creates criminal offences to be clear and precise.
If section 4 as it now reads had been passed at the time this happened, every single person who distributed the video or quoted from the video on Facebook, Twitter or WhatsApp may well have been guilty of a criminal offence. Section 4 is phrased in such a way that the state would not have to prove that you had the intention to promote hate speech when you distributed it, but only that you had the intent to distribute the hate speech .
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Jussie Smollett returns to Empire set after lying about 'hate crime' | IOL NewsIt's reported that JussieSmollett returned to the set of 'Empire' - a drama about a music empire and family dynasty - after being released by police.
Read more »
WATCH: Trevor Noah roasts Jussie Smollett for allegedly faking hate crime | IOL Entertainment'The Daily Show' host Trevor Noah weighed in on the Jussie Smollett saga following reports that the 'Empire' actor was arrested ...
Read more »
Old SA flag 'hate speech' case to be heard in AprilThe Nelson Mandela Foundation and AfriForum are heading to the Equality Court to argue for and against whether the display of the old South African flag constitutes hate speech.
Read more »
OP-ED: Helen Suzman Foundation questions criminalisation of Hate SpeechSouth Africa has an existing legal framework for dealing with harmful and offensive behaviour. This Bill, if enacted, would damage this framework rather than improve it.
Read more »
Helen Suzman Foundation questions criminalisation of Ha...South Africa has an existing legal framework for dealing with harmful and offensive behaviour. This Bill, if enacted, would damage this framework rather than improve it.
Read more »
Hard reality check for Eskom, public wage bill and no l...In a hard-hitting Budget that bluntly put a daily R1-billion price tag on borrowing costs, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni pulled off a political juggling act “in the interest of our people and our country, and not in the narrow objectives of any political party”. Mboweni’s maiden R1.83-tri...
Read more »
Mboweni announces measures to tackle ‘unsustainable’ public wage billThe finance minister announces that the national and provincial compensation budgets will be reduced by R27 billion.
Read more »
Performance bonuses out, early retirement in as Tito Mboweni cuts wage billFinance minister Tito Mboweni has introduced measures to trim the public sector wage bill by R27bn over the next three years.
Read more »
BUDGET2019: Hard reality check for Eskom, public wage bill and no love for taxpayersIn a hard-hitting Budget that bluntly put a daily R1-billion price tag on borrowing costs, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni pulled off a political juggling act “in the interest of our people and our country, and not in the narrow objectives of any political party”. Mboweni’s maiden R1.83-trillion Budget, delivered with a little help from three Bible verses and Charles Dickens, was a hard reality check to Eskom, which got left with all its debts to pay itself. The role of the public sector trade unions in reducing the public wage bill emerged as key, as well as taxpayers - who get no notable relief.
Read more »