The full report is linked here.
Since long before the October 7 attacks, Jewish communities in Europe have experienced growing hate, harassment and hostility on social media. This policy paper articulates the key challenges of online antisemitism and provides comprehensive and practical policy steps which governments, platforms, regulators and civil society organisations can take to address them. Built through 42 interviews with Jewish organisations and experts in antisemitism and digital policy from across CCOA’s five geographies (France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Sweden), it collates local experiences and channels them into a cohesive pan-European strategy, uniting communities and sectors in joint responses.
Interviewees identified five central challenges with online antisemitism:
- Jewish communities and organisations across the five geographies report the significant behavioural, social and psychological impacts of online antisemitism, which have created a chilling effect on participation in public life.
- Concerns exist not just over fringe violent extremist content, but the prevailing normalisation of mainstream antisemitism and a permissive culture which facilitates its spread across all areas of society.
- There are a wide range of social media platforms in the social media ecosystem each adopting distinctive approaches and standards to content moderation, however the widespread accessibility of antisemitism suggest that significant barriers remain to the effective implementation of Terms of Service, and that many platforms are failing in this regard.
- There is limited awareness and understanding of the Digital Services Act (DSA) in Jewish civil society, little capacity to implement it, and a lack of confidence in its efficacy in addressing antisemitism.
- Law enforcement has lacked both the capacity and legislative tools to effectively respond to the scale of illegal activity on social media.
- Mainstreaming Digital Human Rights
This policy paper presents policy recommendations for Governments, Tech Platforms, Digital Regulators, and Civil Society. These approaches constitute a collective pathway but may be diversely applicable across different geographies, communities and jurisdictions.
Published: 28 January 2025
Authors: Hannah Rose, with input from Sina Laubenstein, Solveig Barth, Leonie Oehmig, Nathalie Rücker, Jacob Davey and Henry Tuck
Copyright © Institute for Strategic Dialogue; ISD (2024).
