Journalists’ fears have been heightened by the publication … of a draft Bill under the title of Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech which proposes sweeping inroads on freedom of expression and freedom of the media. FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION Dangers of censorship Certain clauses in the Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill, illustrate the major problem in trying to deal with hate speech. In defining it and taking action to prohibit it, the immediate consequence is intrusion into freedom of expression and the application of censorship. This is strongly opposed, by among others, writers and journalists. They believe that freedom of expression is a core value of a civilised and democratic society and that any curbs on hate speech will have the effect of preventing people from having access to the views and thoughts of others and thus limiting their freedom. 82 So This is Democracy? 2016 Hate crime is the commission of any offence under any law by a person motivated by prejudice, bias or intolerance towards the victim because of the characteristics – or perceived characteristics – that underlie the offence of communicating hate speech. An important feature of hate speech is the necessity of proving that the culprit incited or brought about “harm” to the victim. This requirement is a cardinal principle laid down in the Constitution but the definition of harm is extremely wide and includes any mental, psychological, physical or economic harm. The penalties for hate speech are severe. For a first offence, a three-year jail term or a fine, not defined but according to commentators likely to be heavy, can be imposed and for a second offence, the prison sentence can be ten years or a commensurate fine. In contrast, in Britain, the practice has been to impose a six months’ jail term for a first offence. Punishment for hate crime is more variable being subject to legal and court jurisdiction but the severity of the maximum is even more daunting, extending in some instances to a life sentence. Coupled with this is the reappearance in discussions of the ANC’s policy-making committees that the ANC should give effect to the party’s long-standing proposal that it initiate legislation in Parliament to set up a statutory Media Appeals Tribunal to supplement, or take the place of, the print media industry’s self-regulating Press Council, which deals with public complaints about press reports. The press is totally opposed to the tribunal, which, it is feared would be used to ex-ercise control over editorial content. Journalists are also conscious that the Protec-tion of State Information Bill, also known as the “Secrecy Bill” –, with