European Commission drops bid to make ‘hate speech’ an EU crime
Brussels is instead weighing a directive on online "incitement to violence and hatred" that would need only a qualified majority of member states to pass.
Free speech
Latest reporting and analysis on free speech.
Houellebecq faces hate speech probe over ‘great replacement’ remarks
Two groups pursued the French novelist over a 2022 interview on Muslims and immigration, while his lawyers insist his words are protected by freedom of expression.
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Ukraine bans Polish journalist Łukasz Warzecha for three years on ‘security grounds’
He was stopped on November 2 at the Dołhobyczów-Uhrynów crossing on the Polish-Ukrainian border, in Lublin province, eastern Poland.
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France bans remigration forum and bars speaker from entering country
Officials cited acute risks to public order, referencing local security concerns and widespread tensions following recent incidents.
Brussels freezes national social media bans for children
Austria's plan is the first to be halted as the EC tells member states to wait for its own 'Kids Act' to clear negotiations.
Chinese brands drop Mbappé over Mao joke as state television pulls La Liga
Three sponsors have cut ties with the Real Madrid forward and Beijing's state broadcaster has suspended coverage of Spanish league matches featuring him.
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EU says it will ‘raise concerns’ over Syrian schoolbooks glorifying jihad and anti-Semitism
The statement follows the publication on October 19 of a report by the Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-se), an…
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Germany weighs forcing social media to fill a fifth of recommendations with approved content
The stated aim is diversity, though public broadcasters would enter the favoured pool almost automatically while private outlets would have to apply to regulators.
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Bulgarian parliament speaker’s bodyguard knocks investigative reporter to the ground
The incident, on the evening of October 22, has caused cross-party demands for the immediate dismissal of National Assembly Speaker Mihaela Dotsova.
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French prosecutors seek suspended sentence and public office ban for MEP Rima Hassan
The case, heard before the Paris criminal court on October 19-20, centres on an online post published on March 26, 2026, on X.
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Bundestag fines AfD MP over left-wing MP’s own clitoris remark
“Mr Reichardt, the clitoris has 3,000 nerve endings – and yet you are even more sensitive,” Gebel told the chamber.
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Turkish police raid pro-opposition Halk TV and halt broadcasts as trustee takes over
Financial crimes police entered the building in Zeytinburnu before 6.30am, barring staff from entry as they conducted searches.
French LFI MEP accused of throwing EU and Israeli flags on the ground at October 7 exhibition
Rima Hassan published a photograph of the two flags on the floor and called for her to be “sanctioned without delay”.
UN rapporteur warns France after journalist fined for prison remarks on transgenderism
The judgment included a €1,000 fine, with damages to the civil parties and their legal costs making up the rest.
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Brussels moves closer to possible ban on ESN party
Six experts, selected by the EU institutions, are now set to examine whether the European political family led by Germany’s AfD is breaching the bloc’s fundamental…
Hungarian prosecutors detain two Orbán-era ministers after immunity vote
Balázs Hankó and Miklós Seszták were taken into custody by a prosecution service that has had no confirmed chief since its last one resigned under pressure from…
19 months prison for Turkish comedian who ‘insulted’ Erdogan
He was acquitted of praising crime and criminals, a charge added later over a joke about an organised-crime family known as the Daltons.
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Polish prosecutors drop case against Lech Wałęsa on grounds of his lack of literacy
The former president enjoys good relations with the current ruling coalition led by Tusk and very bad relations with the opposition.
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Daughter of AfD-adjacent intellectual Götz Kubitschek barred from becoming teacher over links to her father
Alruna Hauser had completed her studies in German and school music in Dresden, in the eastern German state of Saxony.
BBC cuts 11 ‘racist’ Mitchell and Webb sketches from iPlayer anniversary release
Viewers and Reddit users noticed the gaps after the iPlayer upload. Neither Mitchell nor Webb has commented. BBC News said it had asked them.
Călin Georgescu arrested in early hours with huge police force
Officers of the organised-crime and terrorism directorate and the national police executed five home-search warrants in Bucharest, Mogoșoaia, Ciolpani and Buftea.
French TV channel apologises after documentary shows French nuclear missile hitting Tel Aviv
The clip ran in Rafale, drones et canons : la révolution des armes françaises, a documentary on modern French weaponry first broadcast on September 1.
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Zelensky’s former press secretary barred from European Parliament after criticism of his policies
Iuliia Mendel was due to speak on peace and diplomacy at an ESN event in Strasbourg, alongside AfD and Weltwoche figures.
Ghent students walk out after honorary vice-rector condemns Cofnas ‘lynching’
Professor Freddy Mortier, a honorary vice-rector and professor in ethics , used the platform to call out colleagues who had ganged up on Cofnas.
Belgian defence minister says anti-terror law could be used against communist festival
Belgian Defence Minister Theo Francken stated that the new anti-terror law could target foreign speakers at the upcoming ManiFiesta festival, citing concerns over…
Spain’s Interior Ministry admits secret ideological files on dozens of journalists
The Spanish Government says the dossier was for internal use only and denies it amounted to a blacklist.
Swedish court convicts activist who named sex offenders on Facebook
Aggravated defamation carries a maximum of two years in prison. The court said the posts had spread so widely that they could not be regarded as justifiable.
Turkish comic who mocked Erdoğan rearrested on separate charges just after being released
Deniz Göktaş was detained at Istanbul Airport on July 2 after returning from a trip abroad and jailed the following day.
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AfD politicians barred from video game fair Gamescom
MEP Mary Khan said "With the AfD leading the polls in Saxony-Anhalt, Gamescom will soon discover that political reality is not so easy to switch off".
‘I’ve gotten many death threats, a tremendous amount of hate’, dr. Nathan Cofnas tells Brussels Signal
He published on July 21. UK papers followed. Cambridge opened an investigation. Arday resigned on August 5 and was found dead in his home 9 days later.