An international working group composed of three Canadian lawmakers stated that social media sites must be responsible for encouraging users to access extremist content, and that legislators should consider enacting regulations to combat the rise of online anti-Semitism.
Politicians from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Israel joined the ranks of Liberal MP Anthony Housefather, Conservative Party Marty Morantz and New Democratic Party’s Randall Garrison.
The working group was established in September last year because lawmakers reported that anti-Semitism was on the rise, and most of what they saw occurred in online and social media posts that transcended national borders.
After two suspected anti-Semitic attacks in Toronto within a week, Jewish advocacy groups raised concerns
At a press conference later on Wednesday, members cited an example of its rise after the attack on the US Capitol in Washington on January 6.
Several lawmakers said that another thing that triggered this kind of discrimination was the recent battle between Israel and Hamas.
“After the conflict in Gaza, I have to say that I have never seen this level of anti-Semitism in recent weeks in my life,” Housefather said after the interim report of the working group was released.
“Some families in my area came to me and told me they were afraid of letting their children wear their kippas to play in the park. I have been told that they are worried about their mezuzahs appearing at their door. Some of us are already driving to wear them. Crossing the street, shouting abominable nicknames to the Jews.
“In my country, I have never seen this happen.”
The report urges governments and social media providers at all levels to adopt a common definition of anti-Semitism first.
“The reality is that if we can’t clearly define a problem, we can’t solve it effectively,” Morantz said.
It also suggested that they consider anti-Semitism in the context of cyber extremism. Housefather said that anti-Semitism is not only a form of hate, but also a form of false information, and pointed out how popular conspiracy theories, such as QAnon, are related to discriminatory beliefs about Jews.
The working group also called on countries to consider using independent supervision and regulation “where appropriate” to create a safer online space.
“We appreciate the progress made by certain platforms, but please note that there is still a lot of work to be done on all platforms in order to address online anti-Semitism content,” it wrote.
Housefather exemplifies this problem, saying that people who deny the Holocaust will not be driven to refute the content of such lies, but the algorithms used by social media giants see them provide more of the same information.
He said the company needs to be “responsible” for its algorithms and described how regulators ensure that they abide by their policies when deleting hate posts.
Last month, the Liberal government introduced a bill to address online hate speech and propaganda issues on the eve of the summer recess of the House of Commons.
As the working group pointed out, the bill has not yet been debated by members of Congress. What happens in this legislature depends on whether Canadians are sent to polling stations before the House of Representatives is scheduled to reconvene in September.
Proposing tougher measures for websites to remove such content is an anti-hate thing, and the Jewish organization told the task force that it believes that countries need to do so.
According to the report, the Australian-based Online Hate Prevention Institute recommended that the government consider reforms that allow them to impose sanctions on foreign companies that fail to remove “illegal content that incites hatred or violent extremism” after sufficient time has passed.
The Simon Wiesenthal Holocaust Research Center in Canada also requires governments to set clear rules for social media sites and search engines to prevent hate speech.
© 2021 Canadian Press
