Dr Ying Chen’s recently published ‘Regulating Cyber Racism in the United States: Legal and Non-Legal Responses from a Comparative Perspective’ explores how the current global pandemic has amplified cyber racism in the United States and its impact on the American legal system.

The COVID-19 pandemic unleashed virulent xenophobia, and a tide of racial hatred as racist hostility increased in the digital environment. Former President Trump’s racist remarks on social media allowed these divides to resurface in the United States. Online hate speech has since crossed into real-world hate crime. Consequently, cyber racism is creating new challenges for the American legal system.

Dr Chen’s research investigates the possibility of regulating cyber racism in the United States from a comparative perspective. First, her article analyses the international legal framework governing racial discrimination. It suggests that the world cannot rely upon the international legal system for racial justice due to the lack of enforcement power. Second, it examines cyber racism in the United States from two aspects: (1) urgent need to address cyber racism; (2) the constitutional challenges under the current First Amendment jurisprudence; and, (3) it proposes a multi-faceted approach encompassing legal and non-legal responses to combat cyber racism in the United States. Finally, the research concludes by re-emphasising the importance of regulating cyber racism in the United States. It is hoped that the solutions proposed in this research can strengthen the arsenal of tools available to prevent cyber racism in all democratic nations.

Dr Ying Chen