Influence Of Misogyny On Social Media: How Much Freedom Of Speech Is Too Much Freedom Of Speech?
- IJLLR Journal
- Jul 8
- 1 min read
Srestha Dutta Chowdhury, LLM, Sister Nivedita University, Kolkata, West Bengal
ABSTRACT
The rapid awakening of social-media platforms has fundamentally altered the architecture of public discourse, simultaneously democratising expression and furnishing new trajectory for gendered hate speech, online harassment and misogynistic abuse. This paper examines the complex legal tension that arise when the constitutional and human rights guarantee of freedom of speech creates an intersectional war with the widespread and documented harm caused by online hatred directed at women. This paper examines the doctrinal, socio-legal, and comparative legal analysis. Additionally, this paper examines the adequacy of existing legal frameworks in India, the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia in addressing gender centric online violence while preserving legitimate, expressive and reasonable freedoms. It argues that existing legal frameworks reflects a fundamental asymmetry; vocal rights are robustly theorised and procedurally under-utilised, while the harms suffered by women online remain systematically underreported, under-regulated, trivialised and inadequately remedied. The paper critically examines the role played by platform intermediary liability, the doctrinal ambiguities surrounding the definition of ‘hate-speech’ and the procedural barriers faced by women seeking redressal. It further considers feminist jurisprudential critiques of the liberal free- speech traditions and offers a framework for contextual, gender-sensitive regulation that neither silences political dissent nor immunises misogynistic harm. The paper concludes that substantive equality demands more than just formal neutrality in governing the rights regarding freedom of speech.
Keywords: Freedom of speech, hate speech, online harassment, gender- based violence, social media law, intermediary liability, Article 19, digital rights, Information Technology Act, Constitution of India.
