EC Praises Platforms for Combating Illegal Hate Speech

aimed at stopping proliferation of racist and xenophobic hate speech online, the EC said. EU law defines illegal hate speech as public incitement to violence or hatred directed to groups or individuals on the basis of characteristics such as race, color, religion, or national origin. Companies must review such content within 24 hours of being notified and remove it if necessary, while respecting the right of freedom of speech. The EC's latest review found that around 89 percent of notifications are assessed within 24 hours. On average, the companies are taking down nearly 72 percent of hate speech notified to them, and they're consistently and scrupulously gauging whether content falls within that category, it said. One area needs more work, the report found: information users are given on what happens to their notices of illegal hate speech. Facebook is "the only platform that provides systematic feedback to all users while the other platforms do not yet reach these levels," it said. Twitter is reviewing 88 percent of all notifications within 24 hours, emailed Director-Public Policy for Europe Karen White: The company has boosted its safety policies, tightened reporting systems and "introduced over 70 changes to improve conversational health." Twitter is "doing this with a sense of urgency," she added. "There is always more we can do to tackle hate speech." Facebook and Instagram are "delighted" to be part of the code of conduct, a Facebook spokesperson emailed.