“The hate speech in the online media is more dangerous, because people have more psychological freedom in the virtual world”

The hate speech is forbidden in the Republic of Moldova by a series of international acts and by the domestic legislation. However, the report on monitoring the hate speech in the online media produced by the CIJ in 2015 shows that some comments of the Moldovan users are violent and incite to hatred. Our interlocutor explains why people do not feel accountable when they leave comments on the Internet and what sanctions are imposed by the legislation.

How do we detect a hate speech in a piece of news or in a comment on the online portals?
First, we must look at the definition of the hate speech, which implies a degrading language or a language that incites to violence against a group of individuals on the basis of race, ethnical background, citizenship, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, disability, moral or political options. Essentially, the hate language is discriminatory against an individual or a group of individuals.
In addition, the hate speech is not limited to this. The ECHR decisions show that the hate language tends to aim at national splitting and can jeopardize the state security.
For example, in the USA the freedom of expression is absolute and the hate speech is not sanctioned directly, but in the context of fighting terrorism or if a message inciting to hatred can be the prerequisite to a crime.

What are the forms of the hate speech?
The hate speech in the online world takes different forms: text and image. We can also witness hate language in some politicians’ speech or on leaflets and fliers. What matters is not the form, but the existence of the hate message as such.

What sanctions does the legislation impose for people who foster the hate speech?
There are sanctions in the Criminal Code, in the Contravention Code and in the Law on ensuring equality. At international level, art. 7 of the ECHR Convention stipulates the freedom of expression, while art. 17 stipulates the abuse of law, setting the limit between the freedom of expression and its scope.

What do you think of the existing legislative framework?
Legally, there are sufficient instruments to sanction the hate speech. The problem is that people do not always perceive these messages as something bad. I think it takes time for the Internet users to realize that they are accountable for the words they say or write. We still do not have this feeling of accountability and there are many factors contributing to that: outdated mentality, low level of education.

What can an Internet user do when they see a comment on a social network or a piece of news on an online portal that contains a discriminatory message?
First, they can notify the Press Council. This institution is authorized to remedy, ask for a change in the title or specific parts of the material. They can also notify the Council for preventing and ensuring equality that will notify the law enforcement authorities in case the message presents a high degree of threat. Besides, the Ministry of Internal Affairs comprises the Center for fighting IT crimes that handles these cases.

What can we do to minimize the hate speech in the online media?
One way of preventing the hate speech in the online media is to moderate the comments. The website administrators must warn the users who use hate speech and eliminate the message inciting to hatred. The actions of website administrators must be systematic and each of us must have some degree of accountability. The hate speech in the online media is more dangerous, because people have more psychological freedom in the virtual world. When one hides under somebody else’s profile, they do not assume responsibility for what they write. However, anonymous users can be identified by the IP, but this is the competence of law enforcement bodies depending on whether there is high risk that can lead to a crime or can damage the state security. The Internet users must be careful when they place comments on the social networks and realize that they can be brought to court.
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This material was produced within the “Fighting hate speech in the online media and on social networks”, implemented by the CIJ with financial support of the partner organization Civil Rights Defenders from Sweden. The content of the report does not necessarily reflect the funder’s position.