ABSTRACT
It is unlikely that broad hate speech and pornography bans and the modification of free speech doctrine that these bans would entail would have disastrous consequences for free speech. There would likely be sobering costs involved in suppressing hate speech and pornography. The most important benefits that banning hate speech and pornography might produce are extremely speculative. With respect to pornography, the stakes may be somewhat higher. There is some evidence that violent pornography and perhaps other types of pornography as well cause violence and discrimination against women. The existence of alternative remedies also undercuts several other rationales for suppressing hate speech and pornography. A nonutilitarian moral vision may similarly lurk in some arguments against broad hate speech and pornography bans. Radicals who reflexively support almost any measure that seems to advance racial and gender equality, even if only symbolically, passionately support hate speech and pornography bans.
