Australia's government will push for changes to its race hate laws, and the internet is far from pleased about it.
Conservative politicians and pundits have long pushed for alterations to Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act, which protects people from acts intended to "offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate" on the basis of race.
SEE ALSO:Comedian shuts down racist audience member in the most beautiful wayOn Tuesday, the country's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced he would make changes: The word "intimidate" will remain, but "offend, insult and humiliate" will be replaced with the word "harass."
Progressive politicians from Labor and the Greens have long been against changes to the act, arguing that it would significantly soften protections for people being discriminated against on the basis of race or ethnicity.
In response to changes to the act, Australian writer Benjamin Law -- whose parents are originally from Hong Kong -- tweeted his experiences of discrimination under the hashtag #FreedomOfSpeech.
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Soon, the hashtag -- referencing a phrase often used in defence of discriminatory behaviour -- was trending around Australia, filling Twitter with people's unsettling experiences of racism.
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Tweet may have been deleted
Turnbull said a press conference changes to the act would "strengthen the protections of Australians from racial vilification, and strengthen protections to free speech."
Based off the experiences of many Australians on Twitter, the changes to law likely won't do much to protect them from everyday racism, and "free speech" seems alive and well.
TopicsTwitterRacial Justice
(责任编辑：百科)
Airbnb activates disaster response site for Louisiana floodingElon Musk and Jack Dorsey agree to conversation about Bitcoin
How to reset your Apple WatchHow to reset your Apple WatchUber's $100M settlement over drivers as contractors may not be enoughMichael Phelps says goodbye to the pool with Olympic gold
Michael Phelps left as he began: Winning.。The most decorated athlete in Olympic history won gold in
...[详细]Someone literally broke the internet
So, the internet is kinda broken.Many of the world's biggest websites including Reddit, Amazon, Twit
...[详细]When Loki died at the end of Thor, it seemed like a plausible end to his character. It was not. His
...[详细]Rimac Nevera is an electric hypercar that goes from 0
In March 2018, Rimac Automobili, an electric carmaker and high-performance battery specialist from C
...[详细]This chart shows just how high Simone Biles can jump
American gymnast Simone Biles has dominated the Rio Olympics with five medals (four of them gold) bu
...[详细]How to watch Apple's WWDC 2021
Another month, another Apple event. This time, it's Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference 2021, an
...[详细]When Loki died at the end of Thor, it seemed like a plausible end to his character. It was not. His
...[详细]Hubble snaps a radiant galaxy lit up by a very active black hole
The Hubble Space Telescope captured a brilliant image of spiral galaxy NGC 3254, which has a particu
...[详细]The five guys who climbed Australia's highest mountain, in swimwear
Climbing a freezing cold mountain is already hard enough work. But in briefs? Nope. 。It's too late fo
...[详细]Rimac Nevera is an electric hypercar that goes from 0
In March 2018, Rimac Automobili, an electric carmaker and high-performance battery specialist from C
...[详细]Twitter grants everyone access to quality filter for tweet notifications
Hubble snaps a radiant galaxy lit up by a very active black hole