“An organized information campaign has been waged in recent days against the Ministry of Internal Affairs and its newly established unit for countering hate speech and public insults,” stated Georgia’s Vice Prime Minister and State Minister for Law Enforcement Coordination, Mamuka Mdinaradze.
Speaking at a press conference at the government administration, Mdinaradze noted that criticism of the new unit comes from certain media outlets, opposition representatives, and their supporters.
“As for the targeted campaign against the ministry and this specific unit, representatives of the agent-led opposition and their media outlets use as their main argument the fact that the individuals targeted by the insults themselves make no complaints. At the same time, they emphasize that verbal insults, in their view, are part of freedom of expression.
This is nothing new to us. The need to eradicate hate speech and insults from the public space arose precisely because, for many years, these people have legitimized insults and bullying as the norm. It is they who made profanity on television broadcasts and in other media a common occurrence, which ultimately led to extreme polarization in society. Following external instructions, they sought to normalize such language. Therefore, it is not surprising that the preventive measures of the Ministry of Internal Affairs are unacceptable to them…
Responding to hate speech and public insults does not depend on the filing of a complaint or the stance of a specific individual.
A public insult by one person against another is an established fact, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs is obliged to respond to it regardless of whether the insulted person considers themselves a victim. This approach serves the public interest, which is far more important than the subjective perception of an individual.
Everyone must understand that the target of hate speech and insults is not just the specific person at whom they are directed. First and foremost, it is a blow to society and public interests.
That is why the relevant unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs will be even more active in applying preventive measures to once and for all eradicate insults, profanity, and bullying in the public space, so that Georgian society no longer feels that an aggressive minority can verbally attack a conscientious majority. This is a positive obligation of the state, and I assure you that we will fulfill it in good faith,” stated Mamuka Mdinaradze.
As a reminder, the Department for Combating Hate Speech and Aggressive Communication has begun operating under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia. Human rights defenders fear that this will lead to the legalization of censorship and “total control.” According to official information, the agency will monitor and proactively identify “publicly distributed statements containing degrading, offensive remarks, and hate speech, if such statements show signs of administrative offenses.”