Fighting Hate Speech through EU Law

Abstract

This article constitutes a chapter from a forthcoming book on EU non-discrimination law (E. Ellis & K. Benediktsdóttir (eds.), Equality into Reality: Action for Diversity & Non-Discrimination). It 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 critical race theory, the paper demonstrates how the judgment of the ECJ in the Feryn case implicitly 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.