Gisbert sues ACOM: the lawsuit that reopens Spain's hate speech debate

Gisbert sues ACOM over a racist insult in a tweet

A single tweet ending up in court should not be news. But when that tweet contains a term some read as a racist insult and others as a mere quotation, and the lawsuit prioritises threats over the insult, the Gisbert v. ACOM affair becomes more than an anecdote.

The lawsuit and its strategy

Gisbert has announced a lawsuit against ACOM. The origin: a tweet using a derogatory term referring to skin colour and Nancy. ACOM had accused Gisbert of spreading hate; he responds by citing that tweet in his complaint. But the priority, judging by the debate, is not the insult: the lawsuit focuses first on the publication of his home address, which Gisbert considers a threat, and on defamation. Everything else would take a back seat.

Hate crimes under suspicion

The underlying debate is the application of hate crime laws in Spain. It is argued that there is no record of convictions for direct insults against the Jewish community, while booksellers and publishers have been convicted, or nearly convicted, for distributing books that question a certain historical narrative. Hence the suspicion that the law is applied with uneven criteria: harsh with some, lenient with others. Gisbert's lawsuit against ACOM could help the courts define where freedom of expression ends and when an offensive term becomes a crime.

If a judge ultimately rules that the term is a racial attack, the bar for future lawsuits will change. If the ruling goes the other way, those denouncing selective prosecution will gain new arguments. For now, the answer lies with the courts. And what if neither party wants to go to trial?