Social media incitement to genocide. ECHR countries’ perspective

Abstract

This chapter addresses the issue of incitement to genocide in the realm of social media. It analyses the regulations on hate speech and tries to frame them within the debate on genocide, with special focus on the notion of incitement to genocide in social media. The first part of the study examines the legal framework of incitement by examining the relevant judgments and literature on genocide. The second part focuses on ISIS activities in social media, especially those orchestrated against the Yazidi community. The conclusions include a discussion of the relevant legal implications for actions executed on the territory of European Convention on Human Rights countries. In examining the theoretical basis for speech acts as an incitement to genocide in social media, this chapter compares an equivalent form of incitement for other types of media outlets, such as radio or television. The increasing role of social media and lack of clearly identified territorial borders raises the issue of deepening state control over the new media and refreshes the concept of universal jurisdiction.