Support for banning hate speech tends to decrease as people get older

An analysis of the 2019-2024 New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study data revealed that support for free speech has been decreasing during this period across all age groups. In contrast, there was little change in the level of support for restricting hate speech. The research was published in Political Psychology.

Free speech is the right of individuals to express ideas, opinions, and information without undue interference or punishment from authorities. It includes spoken words, writing, art, protest, and other forms of expression. Free speech allows people to criticize those in power and hold governments accountable. It supports the search for truth by allowing competing ideas to be debated openly.

Free speech protects individual autonomy by respecting people as thinking agents capable of forming their own views. In democratic societies, free speech enables informed voting and meaningful public participation. It helps minorities and marginalized groups voice their experiences and challenge dominant narratives. Without free speech, fear and conformity tend to replace creativity and innovation. For these reasons, free speech is widely seen as a foundation of free, pluralistic, and resilient societies.

In spite of this, some argue that the right to free speech should be restricted at least in some cases. Traditionally, arguments for this have been focused on maintaining social order and reducing security risk. However, in recent decades, arguments in favor of restricting free speech as a way to protect marginalized groups have become more common. Offensive or disparaging speech targeting groups based on race, religion, gender, or sexuality has generated tensions between the support for free speech and the need to promote social inclusion of these groups.

Study author Maykel Verkuyten and his colleagues wanted to examine the contributions of age, time period, and generation of birth to changes in attitudes toward free speech and hate speech restrictions in New Zealand. They note that support for free speech in New Zealand is likely to be high, but that minority group members might be more supportive of hate speech restriction than majority members because they are typically the target of speech that denigrates their ethnic or racial identity.

These authors analyzed data from the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study collected between 2019 and 2024. The analysis included data belonging to 50,662 participants who responded to questions of interest for this analysis at least once over the five annual assessments conducted in this period.

The respondents provided the data used in this analysis by rating on a scale from 1 to 7 how strongly they support free speech (“Although I may disagree with the opinions that other people hold, they should be allowed to express those views publicly.”) and how strongly they support restriction of hate speech (“People who hold opinions that are harmful or offensive to minority groups should be banned from expressing those views publicly.”).

Results showed that, in the examined period, general support for free speech has decreased across all age groups (all birth cohorts). This was the case both in ethnic majority and minority groups. In contrast, support for restricting hate speech was relatively stable in this period. This was particularly the case among ethnic minority groups.

“Free speech is critical for liberal democracies to function well, but it has limits. Traditionally, concerns about social order and security are considered to justify free speech restrictions, but increasingly there is a focus on possible offense and harm to minority groups. The increased prominence of egalitarian norms and values may ultimately lead to lower tolerance of speech that is considered to harm the status, dignity, and well-being of minority groups,” the study authors concluded.

The study contributes to the scientific knowledge about changes in support for free speech and speech restrictions in New Zealand. However, it should be noted that both support for free speech and for restricting hate speech were self-reported using only single items. Studies using more objective or more comprehensive measures of these attitudes might produce different results.

The paper, “Changes in support for free speech and hate speech restrictions: Cohort, aging, and period effects among ethnic minority and majority group members,” was authored by Maykel Verkuyten, Kumar Yogeeswaran, Elena Zubielevitch, Kieren J. Lilly, and Chris G. Sibley.