The Status And Regulation Of Cyberspace Hate Speech In China

The hate speech spread in the form of "racial hatred" since1930s, and subsequently expands its outreach to the "provocative speech","group defamation", etc. Hate speech aims at specific group that takes prejudice, attacks or hate meanings. The spread of this speech can harm the human dignity at different degrees of severity, as well as equality and social stability. In western history, ethnic and social conflicts have occurred several times. The hate speech constantly inspires such contradictions and conflicts, resulting in a series of serious consequences.As with the advancement of science, technology and social economic, the Internet has became to "the fourth media" with its characteristics of global network media integration, digital, interactive, etc. On the one side, the low-threshold of cyberspace makes the network presents features like communicator’s diversity, thinking, etc. The unprecedented freedom of speech increased, people can have emotionally vested in here, releasing of the pressure, the whole community is also progress with a variety of civilizations and values; On the other hand, the anonymity of cyberspace causes some people forget the legal or moral decline. People can always easily to publish irresponsible comments on the Internet, venting dissatisfaction and anger to reality. In the Internet age, hate speech is gradually developed into "line" type or even "face" type from the initial small-scale "point" type.The value of freedom of speech is significant and moderate, only restrict the freedom can be truly free. On regulatory practices of hate speech, the United States tilt to the freedom, take relaxed attitude towards regulation. However, in Germany, the hate speech is considering no value, they taking strictly limited on the legislative.In China, we have a vast territory, ethnic diversity, religious complexity, etc. With the reform and opening up economy, the conflict between regional and ethnic classes has become increasingly prominent. The differences values cause several conflicts and continuing increased. The Internet revealed abusive, aggressive speech towards specific groups, presenting characteristics like a wide range of spread, a fast speed of spread, strong permeability, etc. Those speeches are based on race, gender, geography and religion leveraging the Internet as a natural platform. In this paper, starting from the concept of hate speech, in the form of case studies and network questionnaire, we are going to analyses the spread of hate speech in our country’s cyberspace. After learning in Europe and the U.S. regulatory model and analyzing our reality, I believe the regulation of hate speech cyberspace communication ought to follow four basic ethical principles such as, respect, justice, freedom, no getting hurt. Based on four ethical principles, we need to combined of top-down and bottom-up modes simultaneously, using legal, technology and ethics regulation modes effectively.