<p>Abstract</p><p>This essay begins with a presentation of the complex set of problems which relate to the interaction between freedom of speech and the ban against discrimination based on a person's race, the colour of their skin or ethnic origin, confession of faith or sexual preference (BrB 16:8, incitement to racial hatred). Can conflicts arise between freedom of speech and the ban against discrimination? To shed light on this question, we have chosen to look at the issue from a new perspective. This perspective is based on the new challenges faced by Swedish society as a result of the changed composition of our population, our membership in the EU and our acknowledgment of certain international conventions concerning human rights.</p><p>Fifty years ago our population almost solely comprised of “native Swedes”. Today, because of massive immigration, our country can be described as multiracial and multicultural. This gives rise to questions concerning protecting minority groups from discrimination whilst also attempting to ensure that the non-discrimination acts do not compromise our freedom of speech. Our membership in the EU and our acknowledgement of certain international conventions means that European law and international law sometimes override Swedish law. This restricts our freedom to decide the extent of our non-discrimination statutes, but can have positive effects on the right to freedom of speech and religion.</p><p>The arguments that are put forward in our essay may give rise to many questions but we will focus on two major issues. First, where does the law draw the line between the freedom of speech and the ban against discrimination based on a person's race, the colour of their skin or ethnic origin, confession of faith, or sexual preference? Second, are there inherit flaws in the law as a result of both the inner changes our society has gone through and our new responsibilities due to our membership in the EU and our acknowledgement of certain international conventions?</p><p>The purpose of this essay is to answer these questions through studying and reflecting on the theory of law (doctrine). We will also analyse the existing written law and its sources, and consider court rulings and related judicial decisions. This analysis will enable us to make the following conclusion concerning the previously mentioned questions.</p><p>The freedom of speech is extensive and is not explicitly defined. Without explicit definition, no specific statements automatically become illegal. Therefore a person's freedom to express his own opinion in public is wide-ranging. Unfortunately our freedom of speech is not guaranteed for ever and therefore we have to both treasure and guard it from potential threats. Popular public opinion, populist interests or other specific interests may seek changes, which might effect our freedom of speech. The ban against discrimination based on a person's race, the colour of their skin or ethnic origin, confession of faith, or sexual preference is a specific interest of this kind. The purpose of this ban is based solely on good intentions. None the less, this ban could be a wolf in sheep’s clothing, as it might have a negative influence on the freedom of speech. When two justifiable causes come into conflict with one another – in this case the freedom of speech versus non-discrimination – a society must make difficult choices. Do we sacrifice part of our freedom of speech which will effect the whole population in order to protect minority groups, or do we sacrifice the rights of the minority in order to secure freedom of speech for all?</p><p>During the last few years there has been an increase in Nazi-organisations in Sweden, which have grown strong in terms of both the number of their supporters and the amount of attention which is paid to them by the press. These groups have used our democratic rights – which includes our freedom of speech – in order to spread their scornful opinions based on a person's race, the colour of their skin or ethnic origin, confession of faith, or sexual preference. Through our study of court rulings concerning Nazis, we came to the conclusion that there is a strong tendency to convict Nazis. This is certainly the case if they call out “Sieg Heil” or salute Hitler. They are also often convicted if they are wearing the Nazi cross.</p><p>When the courts find that they are unable to convict a Nazi for the actions just mentioned, they often base their judgement on either one or two premises. If the prosecutor can not prove that it has been the Nazi's intention to spread a scornful message concerning a group defined by it's race, the colour of their skin or ethnic origin, confession of faith, or sexual preference, he can not be convicted with reference to the non-discrimination act (uppsåtsrekvisitet). Moreover, if it can not be proven that the message has reached a considerable number of people and not just the Nazis private sphere, this also warrants the verdict of acquittal (spridningsrekvisitet). From our study of court rulings however, we found that the non-discrimination statute does fulfil its purpose. Most scornful or hate-filled messages are in fact disseminated to the wider public. This being the case, the Nazi is almost certain to be convicted.</p><p>Religious fundamentalism is not something entirely new in our society. Sweden has always had a few religious groups free from the state church and the members of the free churches have often held conservative religious beliefs, much like some Muslim movements today. Freedom of speech and religious freedom are of course two important elements of any democratic society, but through a court case concerning a Christian priest in a free church, the freedom of speech related to preaching has arguably become unacceptably extensive. In effect this court case means that as long as you can relate your scornful statement about a specific group included in the non-discrimination statute to a religious scripture like the Bible or the Koran, you can not be prosecuted.</p><p>This somewhat unsatisfactory conclusion is a result of Sweden adopting the European Convention of Human Rights. In this case the European Rights Law overrides the Swedish non-discrimination law and this leads to a flaw in our legal system relating to the protection of certain minority groups. It must be mentioned, however, that the European Convention of Human Rights is part of Swedish law, and therefore Swedish law can not contradict European law, RF 2:23. Given that we are bound by the European Rights Law, there is nothing Sweden can do about this flaw, which in the future might have even greater consequences in and on our multicultural society. For instance, what would happen if messages filled with hatred were spread by priests from the Christian free churches and fundamentalist Muslims. If these statements concerned the other group and the origin of the statements could be traced to the Bible and the Koran, the courts would have no way of convicting the preachers as this would go against the European Convention on Human Rights. This could result in serious social instability. Indeed, riots could break out as a result of such religious propaganda. The law would be powerless to halt the dissemination of the religious scorn which caused the riots.</p><p>We have come to three conclusions concerning intrinsic flaws in the law concerning the ban against discrimination based on a person's race, the colour of their skin or ethnic origin, confession of faith or sexual preference. We therefore recommend that the following changes should be made:</p><p>1. Concerning BrB 16:8, this act should include an unmistakable and transparent definition of the word “missaktning” (scornfulness or disrespect).</p><p>2. With reference to the High Court’s ruling regarding the priest and the European Convention on Human Rights, we recommend that Sweden should attempt to find a legal solution which will enable our courts to more easily convict scornful statements regarding certain minority groups, even if the origin of the statement can be traced to religious writings.</p><p>3. With reference to the instruction in the Freedom of Press Act (TF 1:4), we find it necessary to clarify which statements that can be looked upon as legal and which statements are unlawful.</p>

The Communication Decency Act became law in 1996 and was immediately challenged on Constitutional grounds. It was subsequently declared unconstitutional based on the First Amendment guarantee of free speech. Using Fantasy Theme Analysis, an analysis of the dramatic elements of the key players was accomplished. The dramatic elements of Overall Theme, Abstract Concept, Hero/Villain interaction and Emotion were the focus of this analysis. The key players have been named the Antiobscenity Crusaders, the Defenders of Liberty and the Homesteaders after the roles they play. The focus of the analysis was an examination of how these groups rhetorically construct the internet as they attempt to persuade the Supreme Court about the Constitutionality of the Communication Decency Act. / Graduation date: 2000

Thesis (M.A)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2006. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file viewed on (February 7, 2007) Includes bibliographical references.

Abstract This essay begins with a presentation of the complex set of problems which relate to the interaction between freedom of speech and the ban against discrimination based on a person's race, the colour of their skin or ethnic origin, confession of faith or sexual preference (BrB 16:8, incitement to racial hatred). Can conflicts arise between freedom of speech and the ban against discrimination? To shed light on this question, we have chosen to look at the issue from a new perspective. This perspective is based on the new challenges faced by Swedish society as a result of the changed composition of our population, our membership in the EU and our acknowledgment of certain international conventions concerning human rights. Fifty years ago our population almost solely comprised of “native Swedes”. Today, because of massive immigration, our country can be described as multiracial and multicultural. This gives rise to questions concerning protecting minority groups from discrimination whilst also attempting to ensure that the non-discrimination acts do not compromise our freedom of speech. Our membership in the EU and our acknowledgement of certain international conventions means that European law and international law sometimes override Swedish law. This restricts our freedom to decide the extent of our non-discrimination statutes, but can have positive effects on the right to freedom of speech and religion. The arguments that are put forward in our essay may give rise to many questions but we will focus on two major issues. First, where does the law draw the line between the freedom of speech and the ban against discrimination based on a person's race, the colour of their skin or ethnic origin, confession of faith, or sexual preference? Second, are there inherit flaws in the law as a result of both the inner changes our society has gone through and our new responsibilities due to our membership in the EU and our acknowledgement of certain international conventions? The purpose of this essay is to answer these questions through studying and reflecting on the theory of law (doctrine). We will also analyse the existing written law and its sources, and consider court rulings and related judicial decisions. This analysis will enable us to make the following conclusion concerning the previously mentioned questions. The freedom of speech is extensive and is not explicitly defined. Without explicit definition, no specific statements automatically become illegal. Therefore a person's freedom to express his own opinion in public is wide-ranging. Unfortunately our freedom of speech is not guaranteed for ever and therefore we have to both treasure and guard it from potential threats. Popular public opinion, populist interests or other specific interests may seek changes, which might effect our freedom of speech. The ban against discrimination based on a person's race, the colour of their skin or ethnic origin, confession of faith, or sexual preference is a specific interest of this kind. The purpose of this ban is based solely on good intentions. None the less, this ban could be a wolf in sheep’s clothing, as it might have a negative influence on the freedom of speech. When two justifiable causes come into conflict with one another – in this case the freedom of speech versus non-discrimination – a society must make difficult choices. Do we sacrifice part of our freedom of speech which will effect the whole population in order to protect minority groups, or do we sacrifice the rights of the minority in order to secure freedom of speech for all? During the last few years there has been an increase in Nazi-organisations in Sweden, which have grown strong in terms of both the number of their supporters and the amount of attention which is paid to them by the press. These groups have used our democratic rights – which includes our freedom of speech – in order to spread their scornful opinions based on a person's race, the colour of their skin or ethnic origin, confession of faith, or sexual preference. Through our study of court rulings concerning Nazis, we came to the conclusion that there is a strong tendency to convict Nazis. This is certainly the case if they call out “Sieg Heil” or salute Hitler. They are also often convicted if they are wearing the Nazi cross. When the courts find that they are unable to convict a Nazi for the actions just mentioned, they often base their judgement on either one or two premises. If the prosecutor can not prove that it has been the Nazi's intention to spread a scornful message concerning a group defined by it's race, the colour of their skin or ethnic origin, confession of faith, or sexual preference, he can not be convicted with reference to the non-discrimination act (uppsåtsrekvisitet). Moreover, if it can not be proven that the message has reached a considerable number of people and not just the Nazis private sphere, this also warrants the verdict of acquittal (spridningsrekvisitet). From our study of court rulings however, we found that the non-discrimination statute does fulfil its purpose. Most scornful or hate-filled messages are in fact disseminated to the wider public. This being the case, the Nazi is almost certain to be convicted. Religious fundamentalism is not something entirely new in our society. Sweden has always had a few religious groups free from the state church and the members of the free churches have often held conservative religious beliefs, much like some Muslim movements today. Freedom of speech and religious freedom are of course two important elements of any democratic society, but through a court case concerning a Christian priest in a free church, the freedom of speech related to preaching has arguably become unacceptably extensive. In effect this court case means that as long as you can relate your scornful statement about a specific group included in the non-discrimination statute to a religious scripture like the Bible or the Koran, you can not be prosecuted. This somewhat unsatisfactory conclusion is a result of Sweden adopting the European Convention of Human Rights. In this case the European Rights Law overrides the Swedish non-discrimination law and this leads to a flaw in our legal system relating to the protection of certain minority groups. It must be mentioned, however, that the European Convention of Human Rights is part of Swedish law, and therefore Swedish law can not contradict European law, RF 2:23. Given that we are bound by the European Rights Law, there is nothing Sweden can do about this flaw, which in the future might have even greater consequences in and on our multicultural society. For instance, what would happen if messages filled with hatred were spread by priests from the Christian free churches and fundamentalist Muslims. If these statements concerned the other group and the origin of the statements could be traced to the Bible and the Koran, the courts would have no way of convicting the preachers as this would go against the European Convention on Human Rights. This could result in serious social instability. Indeed, riots could break out as a result of such religious propaganda. The law would be powerless to halt the dissemination of the religious scorn which caused the riots. We have come to three conclusions concerning intrinsic flaws in the law concerning the ban against discrimination based on a person's race, the colour of their skin or ethnic origin, confession of faith or sexual preference. We therefore recommend that the following changes should be made: 1. Concerning BrB 16:8, this act should include an unmistakable and transparent definition of the word “missaktning” (scornfulness or disrespect). 2. With reference to the High Court’s ruling regarding the priest and the European Convention on Human Rights, we recommend that Sweden should attempt to find a legal solution which will enable our courts to more easily convict scornful statements regarding certain minority groups, even if the origin of the statement can be traced to religious writings. 3. With reference to the instruction in the Freedom of Press Act (TF 1:4), we find it necessary to clarify which statements that can be looked upon as legal and which statements are unlawful.

This thesis consists of an argument analysis of three columns published in the Indian newspaper The Indian Express in the aftermath of the gangrape and murder of a young woman in Delhi in December 2012, and the following debate about glorification of rape in Indian popular culture. One of the columnists is arguing in favour of including gender as a category in the Indian law on hate speech, thereby banning an artist called Honey Singh and his lyrics about rape. The two other columnists are arguing against new restrictions on free speech in India. The analysis of the columns shows that there are several relevant arguments for and against including gender in the Indian hate speech legislation. The argumentation against a new law is similar to argumentation found in Western liberal theory, and the argumentation in favour of a new law is similar to argumentation found in Western radical feminist and critical race theory. However, both strands of philosophy are contested by postcolonial theorists, arguing that no Western theory is applicable in a non-Western context, such as India. Indian postcolonial feminists argue in favour of a third approach to sexist speech in India; a counter-speech approach. Counter-speech theorists agree with liberals about the importance of freedom of speech, and with feminists about the harm in hate speech. According to counter-speech theory, hate speech shall thus not be outlawed, but the state shall try to counter the harmful effects of hate speech, for example by strengthening groups targeted by hate speech so that they can speak back to hatemongers. The conclusion of this thesis is that a counter-speech approach is the most sustainable regarding freedom of speech and gender in India. Such an approach does not only appeal to Indian postcolonial theorists, it is also a middle way in-between a liberal and a radical feminist approach. In the conclusion, the relevance of hate speech legislation as a whole is also questioned. Laws such as in India, that protect only racial and religious groups from being targeted by hate speech while categories such as gender, sexual orientation and disability are not included, can be deemed discriminatory. An abolishment of hate speech prohibitions and an adoption of a counter-speech approach to all forms of hate speech is discussed.

The study aims to examine how censorship and comics have been discussed in three debates. The aim is also to identify discourses and the orders and relations of power constructed in the debates, and to examine how librarians should handle debates about censorship and comics. Selected sources are articles from Swedish newspapers and tabloids about the debates on the Pox-trial, the manga case and the debate about Tintin in Kulturhuset. The results from the analysis indicates that the debates have been dominated by two main discourses: a discourse on freedom of speech and a discourse on social responsibility. Within the discourse of freedom of speech there is a range of perspectives that emphasize: artistic freedom, the need for open and free conversations, a discussion about how the comics are assessed in comparison with other media formats as well as a discussion about moral and moralism. The discourse of social responsibility results in a feminist and anti-porn discourse, a post-colonial and anti-racist discourse and a discourse on the protection of children and young people. Based on these results, the discourses can be analysed in relation to the laws, values and ethical guidelines for libraries. The analysis indicates that libraries and librarians should keep a balance between freeedom of speech and social responsibility. They could keep up to date with research about censorship, comics and various genres in order to make informed decisions about how to handle comics in the libraries. The librarian should also assess the comics on the same bases as literature, music, film and other cultural expressions.

The constant change of the political, economic, cultural and environmental landscapes of global societies predetermined the upgrowth of the media, the journalistic writings and the blogging practices as a new way of “citizen journalism”. Political blogs are a quite new media phenomenon that gained popularity in the past few years in Bulgaria. Hence, there are limited theoretical case studies.  The lagging performance of Bulgaria in the last Reporters Without Borders Report 2011 together with the explicit recommendations of the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) after the Presidential and Municipal Elections 2011 in terms of media policy, ownership and news coverage bring the question of limited freedom of speech and the emergence of the blogs as an alternative platform for expression into discussion. Two methods are used in this thesis: structured interviews with two different additional questions and Critical Discourse Analysis. The empirical material was gathered from interviews with 8 of the most influential bloggers in Bulgaria (5 of whom work as journalists) and through an analysis of the texts of their blog entries (2 articles per bloggers or 18 articles in total). The aim is to underline the possible limitations in the practice of freedom of speech in Bulgaria from the bloggers’ perspective and to show only major patterns of the social environment and the current discourse in Bulgaria. Among the main findings of this study are thаt the lack of clarity in the media ownership and the failure of the media to defend the public interest are alarming for the level of democracy. Moreover, the media dependence on power and lobbying circles, as well as the blurred boundary between politics and the media results in the media self-censhorship and thus are threatening for the democratic foundation in Bulgaria and the freedom of speech which is at its basis. This study confirms the thriving of the blogosphere as an alternative media platform. This paper aims to provide insights and policy recommendations for international media experts.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the attitude of teachers regarding including democratic behaviour when grading students in social science. The purpose is also to investigate whether the teachers consider there to be a conflict between the right of freedom of speech and the democratic values that the school is supposed to make sure the students have when they graduate. The study also investigates the problems political decisions encounters when going from theory to reality. The theory of Ulf Petäjä on why the freedom of speechs is important, Robert Dahls theory about the democratic process and Anders Sannerstedts theory about converting political decisions to reality is what this study is based on. The study was carried out at three different schools; Teleborg Centrum, Växjö, Dackeskolan, Tingsryd and Centralskolan, Virserum ranging from the spring of 2006 and the spring of 2007. The method used except from litterature studies was interviews with active teachers. This study shows that teachers don’t think it’s acceptable to grade students based on their political ideology. It also shows that most teachers doen’t consider there to be a dilemma between the shools democratic values and the freedom of speech. What goes on in the class room seems to be shaped more by the local school standards and the teachers themselves than by the political documents that the education is supposed to be based on.

Article 14 of the Constitution of the Republic of China provides that people have the freedom of assembly and association. It is also the fundamental human right. Although the Assembly and Parade Act was promulgated in 1988 and has been amended twice, its constitutionality has been challenged continuously. After the Council of Grand Justices made the interpretation of Shih-Zih No. 445, the legal system of assembly and parade still has not been changed and exercising assembly right still represent the practice of democracy and national sovereignty, which mainly protects the right of disadvantaged groups to express opinion and political ideas. In the multicultural and democratic society, if exercising the right positively can be highly valued, it will enhance the social harmony significantly. The respect towards exercising the freedom of assembly and the well addressing of it have become an important index to inspect a legal and democratic state. Article 35 of the Constitution of PRC provides that the people of the People's Republic of China shall have the freedom of speech, publication, assembly, association, parade and demonstration. Since the opening up and reformation of China, the social structure faced a huge transformation and the appeals of people tended to be more various, which provoked more riots and affected the stability of social economy and politics. Adopting a prevention mechanism for the collective power has become an issue for China. Following the rapid economic growth in cross-straits, Taiwan has also involved in the legal field of assembly and parade. Some enterprises have transferred asset and investment to China. Therefore, unemployed people will protest on the street and the social structure has also changed. Both of the governments in Taiwan and China need to established a mechanism and a well-structured system of administrative remedy and supervision to tackle demonstrations for a better harmonized society. Based on the 5 major frameworks of administration law, including administrative principles, administrative organization, administrative authority, administrative remedy and administrative supervision, this study aims at examining the legal system of assembly and parade in cross-straits to redress deficiency with researching by reference, historical analysis, comparative analysis and induction analysis in different aspects. Through the study, a lot of problems have been found, including the deficiency and vague definition of related law, unclear discretion standard, the need for shifting the system from permit to pre-notice, overbroad scale of restricted area, excessive harshness of criminal penalty, inadequacy of related mechanism and the systems of remedy and supers ion, political intervention and absurdity of the law. Overall, restriction exceeds protection. For promoting the mutual development and communication of cross-straits, both of the government in Taiwan and China should examine the problems dwelling in the law and further to review and perform modification, as well as establishing an assessment system.The admendemt of the legal system should move forwards to ¡§protecting the freedom of people as human right¡¨ of the Constitution, so as to fulfill the spirit of the Constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, namely, protecting human right.

<p>The purpose of this study is to investigate the attitude of teachers regarding including democratic behaviour when grading students in social science. The purpose is also to investigate whether the teachers consider there to be a conflict between the right of freedom of speech and the democratic values that the school is supposed to make sure the students have when they graduate. The study also investigates the problems political decisions encounters when going from theory to reality.</p><p>The theory of Ulf Petäjä on why the freedom of speechs is important, Robert Dahls theory about the democratic process and Anders Sannerstedts theory about converting political decisions to reality is what this study is based on.</p><p>The study was carried out at three different schools; Teleborg Centrum, Växjö, Dackeskolan, Tingsryd and Centralskolan, Virserum ranging from the spring of 2006 and the spring of 2007. The method used except from litterature studies was interviews with active teachers.</p><p>This study shows that teachers don’t think it’s acceptable to grade students based on their political ideology. It also shows that most teachers doen’t consider there to be a dilemma between the shools democratic values and the freedom of speech. What goes on in the class room seems to be shaped more by the local school standards and the teachers themselves than by the political documents that the education is supposed to be based on.</p>