The Indo Daily: JK Rowling, Elon Musk and the hate-speech debate polarising Ireland and Scotland

JK Rowling made a series of comments on social media after Scotland’s new hate crime laws came into effect (PA)

What started out as a mundane piece of legislation aiming to tackle hate speech in Scotland has become a lightning rod for debate. A Scottish law that came into force on Monday has received significant pushback from many, including Harry Potter author JK Rowling and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Rowling, who has become an outspoken critic of the Scottish government’s stance on transgender rights, declared “freedom of speech and belief are at an end in Scotland if the accurate description of biological sex is deemed criminal” on X. Posting about the issue, Rowling, who is currently out of the country, added that if what she had written was an offence under the Act the she would “look forward to being arrested when I return to the birthplace of the Scottish Enlightenment”. A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “The comments are not assessed to be criminal and no further action will be taken.”

But here in Ireland, we also have our own proposed hate-speech bill which is attracting opposition from the likes of Elon Musk. With a new taoiseach coming in next week, some in the Government parties want Simon Harris to kill the bill. After a bruising defeat in last month's referendums, could the Government shelve the proposed legislation or will it be brought in despite growing opposition?

Today on The Indo Daily, Kevin Doyle is joined by Conor Matchett, the political editor with the Scottish Sun, and Gabija Gataveckaite, political reporter on the Irish Independent, to look at the controversy in Scotland and how it might be a mirror for what’s coming down the line here.