Hate speech, whether targeting individuals or groups, online or offline, is not just a problem for individual countries, something that became clear during our discussion involving 50 experts from across Europe. That's why international cooperation is needed on a European level, in order to counter hate speech in a meaningful way. But there is a long way to go before this is the case, as it became clear through the discussions that there are still major differences between the different countries in Europe, with widely differing laws. There are significant differences in terms of the strength and power of civil society initiatives throughout the bloc.

Felix Winnands