Unpacking the tensions in the Legal Regulation of Online Hate-Speech within the Norwegian Context

Abstract

Recent research shows that online hate-speech is on the rise in western societies, including in Norway. This submission builds on a broader 4-year research initiative on: “Violence-inducing Behavior Prevention in Social-Cyber Space of Local Communities” funded by the Norwegian Research Council aimed develop radical technological solutions to support authorities in the fight against online-hate speech as well as generate new and deeper understandings of the complexities surrounding the vice on online hate. Our research contributes in two ways to the conference theme on how data and artificial intelligence are setting the stage for digital revolution and contributing to solving societal challenges. Firstly, our presentation contributes to strengthening our understanding of the positives strides, the grey areas, and the challenges in the police field. Here, we explore how the police identify, interpret, and apply the legislation on online hate speech, through data and artificial intelligence. The focus is on the police as one of several other significant actors and stakeholders we are engaging who are proactive in the fight against online hate-speech. Secondly, this qualitative contribution feeds into the overall projects goal to develop a real time AI tool, to help authorities such as the police in their efforts to combat online hate speech. Using human rights, freedom of expression and digitization as conceptual frames, the paper posits a social-economic, technological, and ethical analysis of the legislative initiative on hate-speech (paragraph 185) including both positives as well as the tensions and consequences from a legislation context.

Unpacking the tensions in the Legal Regulation of Online Hate-Speech within the Norwegian Context