Petition · past parliament
Make any form of hate speech a specific criminal offence
Rejected
21 signatures
What the petition asks
Hate speech is communicating in a way that is meant to offend and hurt somebody. This abuse includes racism, homophobia, body shaming and a whole range of other hate speech. Hate speech can affect everyone from every walk of life, both in real life and online.
The Daily Mail comments section sees bigoted comments posted every single day, but these are just removed when moderated. Racist hate speech on Twitter (for instance) is most likely to get your account suspended and you being charged for inciting racial hatred. I don't see why it shouldn't be challenged in other walks of life.
This petition is an important topical issue and I want it to help bring justice to everyone who has ever suffered from it. Hate speech is NOT freedom of speech.
This petition is an important topical issue and I want it to help bring justice to everyone who has ever suffered from it. Hate speech is NOT freedom of speech.
Why it was rejected
It was not clear what the petition asked the UK Government or Parliament to do.
Petitions need to call on the Government or Parliament to take a specific action.
You could start a new petition explaining clearly how you would like Parliament to change the law.
You could start a new petition explaining clearly how you would like Parliament to change the law.
Timeline
| 12 Sep 2017 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 13 Sep 2017 | Rejected by the Petitions Committee |
Key facts
Signatures
21
Status
Rejected
Rejected
13 Sep 2017
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.