Abusive comments, harassment and incitement to violence easily slip through online platforms’ content moderation tools, finds a new report from the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA). It shows that most online hate targets women, but people of African descent, Roma and Jews are also affected. A lack of access to platforms’ data and understanding of what constitutes hate speech hampers efforts to tackle online hate. FRA calls for more transparency and guidance to ensure a safer online space for all.
29
November
2023
Online hate speech is a growing problem in today’s digitalised societies. Women, Black people, Jews and Roma are often targets of online hate speech. Online hate proliferates where human content moderators miss offensive content. Also, algorithms are prone to errors. They may multiply errors over time and may even end up promoting online hate. This report presents the challenges in identifying and detecting online hate. Hate of any kind should not be tolerated, regardless of whether it is online or offline. The report discusses the implications for fundamental rights to support creating a rights-compliant digital environment.
On 16 November, FRA took part in a seminar on information provision during the Justice and Home Affairs Agencies network meeting. The seminar covered information provision in different migratory contexts.
Michael O’Flaherty
FRA Director Michael O'Flaherty lecture to the Vienna Diplomatic Academy on 16 November 2023 recognises how Europe stands with Ukraine and calls for human rights to take centre stage in reconstruction plans.