Ireland’s new Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill 2022 will make sharing or viewing “non-mainstream media content” illegal.

Rating

Misleading and missing important context The Bill, which is currently going through the final stages of legislative process before being passed as an Act, is primarily aimed at updating Ireland’s hate crime laws. It includes offences that may arise through preparing, possessing and sharing material – and it outlines how the laws, and defences against them, may apply to the press and other media. However, there is important wider context – it does not make it illegal to “view or share non-mainstream media content” in its entirety. Instead it relates only to inciting hatred or incitement to violence where “protected characteristics” apply.

Reviewed by PA Media ↗ · May 18, 2023