EU Intends to Drop Bid Making Hate Speech an EU Crime

The European Commission plans to withdraw a proposal to add hate speech and hate crime to a list of EU criminal offenses after it stalled in the council.

The commission, the EU’s executive branch, also said it is considering introducing a directive to combat online incitement to violence and hatred.

The decision, announced on Nov. 4, addressed an initiative unveiled in December 2021, which sought to extend the list of EU crimes under the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

If member states had unanimously approved the initiative, with the consent of the European Parliament, hate speech and hate crime would have been added to the list alongside offenses such as terrorism, human trafficking, and cybercrime.

Adding hate speech and hate crime would have allowed the commission to establish common minimum rules defining criminal offenses and penalties across member states.

Current EU legislation requires member states to criminalize certain forms of racist and xenophobic hate speech under a 2008 council framework. It also requires states to ensure that racist or xenophobic motivation is treated as an aggravating circumstance or can be considered by courts when determining penalties.

Member states’ national laws diverge considerably beyond those minimum standards. While many countries have expanded legal protections to include characteristics such as sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, or age, others have adopted narrower approaches.

Germany criminalizes hate speech through provisions prohibiting incitement against groups defined by national, racial, religious, or ethnic characteristics. Germany does not recognize hate crime as a stand-alone criminal offense but requires courts to consider discriminatory motives when sentencing.

France criminalizes both hate speech and hate crime through provisions in its Criminal Code and Press Freedom Act. The country’s legislation covers a broad range of protected characteristics, including ethnic origin, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, and disability.

The headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels on May 21, 2025. Martin Bertrand/Hans Lucas via AFP via Getty Images

Italy criminalizes certain forms of hate speech and hate crime, including racist propaganda, incitement to discrimination, and acts of violence motivated by ethnicity, race, nationality, or religion.

The Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset said in June that democracies needed stronger legal responses to hate speech.

“What we need is a strategy for democratic security,” Berset said. “One where hate speech is met with the law.”

Critics argue that expanding EU speech regulation risks limiting lawful expression.

Alliance Defending Freedom International (ADFI) said on Nov. 9 that while incitement to violence is already a criminal offense, proposals targeting “incitement to hatred” have been used in some countries to prosecute peaceful expression.

ADFI said that the EU’s plans to introduce a directive to combat online incitement to violence and hatred risked becoming “yet another tool to silence disfavored views and strengthen the [Digital Services Act’s] online censorship regime.”

Digital Services Act

The Digital Services Act (DSA), an EU-wide regulation that sets obligations for digital services, fully entered into force in 2024.

In January 2025, the commission announced updated hate speech guidelines under the DSA requiring participating technology companies to cooperate with networks of specialist organizations monitoring illegal hate speech.

Under the revised code, participating platforms are expected to review at least half of qualifying notices submitted by those monitoring organizations within 24 hours.

The DSA has also attracted criticism from parts of the technology industry and some European lawmakers.

Mark Zuckerberg wears a pair of AR glasses during the Meta Connect conference in Menlo Park, Calif., on Sept. 25, 2024. Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP Photo

Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said in January 2025 that Europe had introduced an “ever-increasing number of laws” that institutionalized censorship and made innovation more difficult.

Last year, French Member of the European Parliament Virginie Joron described the DSA as a “Trojan horse for surveillance and control,” arguing it had become a political tool to regulate speech on platforms including X, Facebook, and Telegram.