Anachronisms by Law
Why Resurrecting Speech-Restricting Laws from the Past Should not be the Way Forward
Heldt, Amélie
Author
aut
Text
xx#
2019
Verfassungsblog
2019-12-10
eng
In an ongoing effort to combat online hate speech, the German Minister of Justice recently announced to examine the re-introduction of section 88a of the German Penal Code. This law sanctioned the ‘anti-constitutional endorsement of crime’ and was only in force during a brief period between 1976 and 1981. It was supposed to counteract the spread of aggressive opinions and calls for violence. While politicians today are struggling with the issue of harmful online speech, one should refrain from re-introducing a law that was not only controversial back then but also ineffective. Apart from that, resurrecting the law in today’s digital world raises numerous questions.
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
Heldt, Amélie
funded by the government
Criminal Law
Freedom of Speech
Social Media
342
https://staging.verfassungsblog.de/anachronisms-by-law/
Verfassungsblog
2366-7044
Max Steinbeis Verfassungsblog gGmbH
10.17176/20191210-180826-0
191210
10.17176/20191210-180826-0
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