EU pledges to step up fight against hate crimes

[December 06, 2023]  BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The European Commission on Wednesday pledged more money to protect places of worship and tougher guidelines for social media companies after a surge of antisemitic and anti-Muslim incidents across the continent. 

European Union flags fly outside the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium November 8, 2023. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo

"Europe is experiencing an alarming increase in hate speech and hate crime and evidence shows that Jewish and Muslim communities are particularly affected," the commission said in a statement.

The commission said it would increase spending on the protection of places of worships by 30 million euros, including a rise of 5 million euros ($5.4 million) to address the threat of rising antisemitism.

In the first two weeks since Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel, Austria recorded a 300% increase in anti-Semitic incidents compared to 2022, while the Netherlands saw a rise of 800% on the previous monthly average, the Commission's vice-president Margaritis Schinas told a press conference.

The Commission said it would push for stronger rules to counter illegal hate speech online under a code of conduct signed with online platforms, to be finalized in the next three months, in addition to the stricter regulation for large online platforms that has been introduced earlier this year in the Digital Services Act (DSA).

The current code of conduct dates back to 2016, when Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Microsoft agreed to tackle online hate speech within 24 hours in Europe. More platforms like Instagram, TikTok or LinkedIn have joined it since.

Asked about specific actions under the DSA, the Commission's vice-president Vera Jourova said it was collecting data and evidence which might indicate that "some of the very large online platforms are or might not be fully compliant with the requirements."

"These platforms are now receiving letters with a concrete set of questions stemming from our findings and observation of what we see online," she added.

Any firm found in breach of the DSA faces a fine worth up to 6% of its global turnover, and repeat offenders may be banned from operating in Europe altogether.

The Commission said it would support training for journalists on upholding media standards and recognizing hate speech, while increasing support to fact checkers within the EU and the Arab speaking world.

($1 = 0.9272 euros)

(Reporting by Piotr Lipinski, editing by Bart Meijer and Christina Fincher)

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