The Telegraph
Ofcom expands definition of hate speech to include trans intolerance
Ofcom has expanded its definition of hate speech to include intolerance of gender reassignment, social origin and “political or any other opinion”. The regulator updated its broadcasting code to encompass 18 characteristics, where previously it had four. Under the old code, broadcasters had to ensure that their programmes did not contain any incitement to hatred based on race, sex, religion or nationality. The amended guidance defines hate speech as “all forms of expression which spread, incite, promote or justify hatred based on intolerance on the grounds of disability, ethnicity, social origin, sex, gender, gender reassignment, nationality, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, colour, genetic features, language, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth or age”. The amendment is a requirement under the revised Audiovisual Media Services (AVMS) Regulation 2020 laid before Parliament in September, and takes effect from today. Ofcom said offences against transgender people, the disabled and others with characteristics on the list could previously have been covered under a catch-all on the old broadcasting code that protected the public from “offensive or harmful material’, but those groups are now explicitly mentioned in the new guidance. The protected characteristics were first defined in the European Charter on Fundamental Freedoms, to which the AVMS adheres, and which was in turned drafted in light of the Human Rights act and the European Convention on Human Rights. Setting them out in detail would provide “greater transparency”, Ofcom said. It added that the inclusion of “political or any other opinion” would not prevent someone from criticising an opinion, but was intended to guard against inciting hatred towards a person who held that opinion. During the consultation process, ViacomCBS, whose brands include Channel 5, Comedy Central and Showtime, warned that Ofcom should take context into account when considering accusations of hate speech, and allow content that “challenges boundaries and uses humour to explore societal issues” with no harm intended. Ofcom said the rules would take into account freedom of expression “which encompasses the audience’s right to receive creative material, information and ideas without interference but subject to restrictions required by law and necessary in a democratic society”. A spokesman said of the amended guidances: “These are characteristics referred to in Article 21 of the European Charter on Fundamental Freedoms, and Ofcom is required by law to prohibit hate speech against any group covered by the characteristics set out in the Charter. “We would consider any complaints about potential incitement against those characteristics taking into account the facts of an individual case. As stated in our consultation, any consideration would also take into account freedom of expression.” Last year, Ofcom received 3,581 complaints of racial discrimination on TV and radio, up from 2,680 the previous year and an increase of 224 per cent since 2015. There were 429 complaints of gender discrimination, up from 310 in 2018 and an increase of 148 per cent since 2015. A study of audience expectations published by the regulator in April found that the public believed “discriminatory content against specific groups” was more concerning than other offensive content such as nudity and swearing.
