US State Department Defends Ireland Against EU’s Hate Speech Law Threat

The U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) has issued a public statement supporting Ireland’s stance on free speech after the European Union threatened legal action against the country for failing to implement the bloc’s hate speech regulations.

In a post on X, the DRL stated: “The European Union is threatening legal action against Ireland if it does not adopt the speech rules designed by bureaucrats in Brussels, even after the Irish government dropped such legislation last year due to lack of democratic consensus. The United States is deeply committed to supporting freedom of expression and national sovereignty. We support the Irish people and our shared commitment to fundamental freedoms.”

The European Commission has given Ireland two months to begin adopting stricter hate speech laws or face referral to the Court of Justice of the European Union. The warning stems from Ireland’s alleged failure to comply with a 2008 EU framework decision requiring member states to criminalise racist and xenophobic behaviour, including incitement to violence and Holocaust denial.

Ireland currently enforces the Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act 1989, which criminalises inciting hatred against individuals or groups based on characteristics like race, religion, or nationality. However, critics within the EU argue the law does not go far enough. According to the Irish Courts Service, only five convictions have been recorded under the law since 2017.

The controversy surrounding hate speech legislation in Ireland escalated in 2022 with the introduction of the Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill. That bill was eventually shelved in 2023 amid public backlash and concerns over vague language and potential infringements on free expression.

At the time, Vice President J.D. Vance, then a U.S. Senator, wrote to the Irish ambassador expressing deep concern. In his letter, Vance warned that the proposed bill could “undermine Ireland’s commitment to universally prized freedoms, including the freedom of speech.” He criticized the bill’s broad language, particularly its prohibition against “reckless” speech that could incite hatred, arguing it could chill legitimate public debate.

Vance wrote: “Would the prohibition include ‘recklessly’ attributing social ills, like crime, to increased immigration to Ireland? Would it include ‘recklessly’ affirming that gender is biologically determined and that there are only two genders, male and female?”

He also cited remarks from Senator Pauline O’Reilly, who previously stated that the purpose of laws like this is to “restrict freedom.” Vance contrasted Ireland’s actions with U.S. foreign policy, which regularly criticises governments like China and Iran for censoring speech and peaceful protest.

As the EU pushes Ireland to comply with bloc-wide speech regulations, the U.S. government is maintaining its support for Ireland’s right to chart its own course on speech laws, without Brussels’ interference.