New, controversial hate crime laws will go into effect April 1 in Scotland. The purpose of the laws is to better protect people from hateful speech, including online, but critics of the laws say it infringes on freedom of expression.
The law will criminalize threatening or abusive behavior which is intended to stir up hate against someone because of their age, religion, sexual orientation and transgender identity.
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The hate crime can be verbal, physical or in a digital space, meaning hate speech online will become a criminal offense.
Scottish authorities have pledged the hate crime laws will be enforced to the fullest extent. Police said they will investigate every complaint they receive.
One complaint has already been filed ahead of the law’s implementation against J.K. Rowling, the author of the “Harry Potter” series, who has been vocal in her criticism of the transgender movement.
Rowling referred to transgender TV broadcaster India Willoughby as a man, despite Willoughby identifying as a woman.
However, local police said Rowling’s comments on X, formerly Twitter, did not meet the criminal threshold for prosecution.
Enforcing the new hate crime laws has been a concern from both advocates and critics. The Scottish Police Federation, the union that represents police officers, called it a “recipe for disaster.”
A spokesperson for the federation said police are already overwhelmed before the new law takes effect and the training to enforce the new laws was vague. The union representative also expressed worries that online insults would inundate their police force.
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