Israeli Communications Minister and UN Secretary-General Agree to Fight Antisemitism Online

Communications Minister Yoaz Hendel and UN Secretary-General António Guterres have agreed to join forces to combat hate speech, incitement and antisemitism online.

The meeting was held on Friday in New York, during which Hendel informed Guterres about the committee he will establish to review the status of all social media networks in Israel since those defined as media organisations can be held accountable for and be a subject of court proceedings when they publish antisemitic content, including hate speech and incitement.

“Hendel, Guterres, and Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan discussed the influence that algorithms hold over the emotions of teens and the need for a binding, international regulation which puts responsibility on the social media companies. Erdan noted that inciting content on Israeli channels of social media platforms is directly connected to terror attacks in Israel,” reports The Jerusalem Post.

Hendel is willing to share the knowledge accumulated in Israel and is committed to making the country a pioneer in the fight against antisemitism. Gutteres claimed that it is the UN’s priority to develop an advanced infrastructure to tackle the issue of social media algorithms that “encourage hate speech and polarisation.”

 

Photo Credit: Ministry of Communications