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Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked led today (Tuesday, 20 March 2018) an International Conference for combating incitement online. The conference was held in the framework of the Global Forum on Combating Antisemitism of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs. The conference was also attended by Italian Justice Minister Andrea Orlando, Greek Minister of Justice Stavros Kontonis, Malta's Minister of Justice Owen Bonnici, as well as Facebook's Policy Director for the Southern Africa, Middle East and Africa Region, Delphine Reyer.
Minister Shaked revealed in her speech data regarding online incitement for 2017. According to data from the Cyber Department in the Israeli Ministry of Justice, the biggest event that led to a wave of incitement and a call for terror was US President Donald Trump's announcement of the transfer of the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
"On this occasion, I would like to thank President Trump once again for announcing the transfer of the US Embassy to Jerusalem on Israel's Independence Day, which will occur a month and a half from now. It is an honorable gift for the 70th Independence Day of the State of Israel," Shaked emphasized. "In any case, this event, which received great media attention in Israel and around the world, led to a tremendous response from some Palestinians, calling for violence and terrorism against Israelis."
"I would like to emphasize that this event is not about legitimate criticism of Israel or the US. This is a call against explicit violence, against Israelis, against Israeli targets, against Jews," according to Shaked.
"This incitement, which is unfortunately also shared by the Palestinian Authority, requires our unique efforts together with the social networks to sterilize this despicable discourse. With a real understanding of the connection between incitement and terrorism, the Justice Ministry, under my leadership, is making considerable efforts to deal with illegal content on the Internet. "
"The terrorist organizations switched to Twitter instead of Facebook. The reason is simple: Facebook responds effectively to our requests to remove the contents of terrorism, while Twitter ignores them. We are considering legal action against them."
The ministers of justice of Greece, Italy and Malta, who also addressed the conference, presented together with Justice Minister Shake a joint statement on countering online hate speech and incitement to violence and terrorism.
Following is the text of the joint statement:
Joint Statement on Countering Online Hate Speech and Incitement to Violence and Terrorism
Recognizing that the internet and social media in particular have become invaluable tools that enable the sharing of ideas around the globe by creating avenues for dialogue that transcend geographic and political boundaries; facilitate the emergence of online communities, and contribute to a diverse and rich discourse and the enhanced ability to share information quickly and effectively;
Recognizing that freedom of expression, a fundamental right recognized in our respective democracies, has been immensely enhanced by technological developments, and the internet in particular, which allow all global citizens to make their voices heard, regardless of nationality, gender, race, color, religion, language, age, disability, political or other opinion, social or ethnic origin or financial means, and as such, these tools should be safeguarded so that this fundamental right is not hindered excessively or unnecessarily, directly or indirectly;
Acknowledging that notwithstanding this welcome and extremely valuable technological and cultural revolution, the internet and social media in particular have at the same time facilitated the dissemination by extremists of racist, discriminating, xenophobic and anti-Semitic hate speech, which is not only hurtful and offensive, but may also amount to a criminal offense;
Noting that the internet also serves as fertile ground for the dissemination of numerous publications by terrorist organizations, incitement to acts of violence and terrorism;
Recognizing that the dissemination of such harmful publications to the public is significantly enhanced online, and that internet companies - hosting platforms, search engines and social media platforms – by the very nature of the services they provide and given their unique characteristics, as well as the expansive and transnational nature of the internet, may contribute to the viral nature of these publications;
Expressing the belief that the entire internet community – industry, government and internet users – has a shared interest in taking steps to make the internet a safe space and prevent its abuse for the spread of cyber-hate and incitement to violence and terrorism, while preserving its essential freedom;
Expressing the belief that internet companies in particular are uniquely positioned to potentially minimize some of the risks and harm that may occur as a result of these publications and may have the ability, in some cases, to dramatically reduce the immediate and long-term effects that such publications may have, particularly in contributing to acts of violence, racism or terrorism;
We hereby declare:
a. We are committed to promoting actions, whether each state individually or jointly, through inter-state cooperation or through international collaboration, both through formal and informal actions, to reduce the dissemination of illegal hate speech publications and the incitement and promotion of violence and terrorism.
b. We acknowledge and commend those internet companies that are already taking measures today to reduce the dissemination of virulent hate speech publications and the incitement and promotion of violence and terrorism online. Nevertheless, we are of the shared belief that more can be done and that further concrete steps can be taken by internet companies in pursuance of a safer online environment.
c. To that end, we strongly urge internet companies to adopt a clear and transparent industry standard for identifying hate speech and encourage internet companies to take action against hate speech publications and to remove such publications from their services.
d. We invite the leading internet companies to join us in establishing avenues for fostering direct and transparent communication with the relevant national agencies and professionals in our respective countries. Such dialogue on a regular basis can serve as a basis to discuss our mutual concerns and challenges, which in turn can significantly contribute to our joint effort to decrease the spread of illegal hate speech publications and the incitement and promotion of violence and terrorism on their platforms.
e. We strongly encourage internet users' communities in our respective nations to report to law enforcement agencies hate speech criminal conduct, as well as hate speech publications and incitement and promotion of violence and terrorism encountered online to the internet companies themselves.
f. We are deeply committed to act relentlessly to create a safe, secure and open online environment, while at the same time ensuring that the internet remains a thriving platform for the exchange of diverse views and forms of expression, including those that are unpopular or marginal, as part of our commitment to ensuring the safety and well-being of future generations. To this end, we will continue the collaboration between our nations in this field in the future.