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I’m flying to Dublin to talk to the Seanad (Senate) this afternoon, about the dangerous and draconian Hate Speech bill currently making its way through the Irish parliament. It’s already passed the lower house (Dáil) and is now being presented to the Seanad. 1/7
Anyone interested in freedom of speech, wherever you are, SPEAK UP – this affects YOU. @DeptJusticeIRL @HMcEntee @LeoVaradkar 2/7
When a crime has no definition, anyone can be found guilty. And that’s what’s going to happen if this bill becomes law, because it criminalises “hate” without defining it. 3/7
Among the protected characteristics in this law is “gender”, circularly defines as: “The gender which a person expresses as the person’s preferred gender, or with which the person identifies, and includes transgender, and a gender other than those of male and female”. 4/7
It is likely to criminalise voicing views that risk resulting in “hatred” (remember, there’s no definition of this!) towards male people who want access to women’s changing rooms and sports because they feel female. Penalty: up to five years in jail. 5/7
It will also be a crime to merely POSSESS material that is “likely to incite violence or hatred against a person or a group of persons”. Unless you can prove that you don’t intend to disseminate that material, it will be presumed that you do intend to do so. 6/7
This bill is literally Orwellian: it creates an undefined offence of thoughtcrime. As Ireland is the European HQ for most social media companies, it will have huge implications for what is allowable in conversations on trans ideology on social media all across Europe. 7/7
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