Global IT companies to combat hate speech on Internet

The European Commission in cooperation with the world’s largest IT companies starts to combat the spread of national and religious hatred on the Internet.

The action has been already supported by Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Microsoft, Delfi.lv reports with reference to the press service of the European Commission.

In late May, the leading global IT market players signed a special code of conduct, undertaking the commitments to prevent the spread of “hate speech.” The agreement stipulates that the companies shall draft the internal procedures and conduct training for employees so that they could quickly track the emergence of hate speech in social media and respond to it within 24 hours (withdraw content and block access to it).

Moreover, the IT companies promise to strengthen cooperation with civil society organizations, which will help identify aggressive verbal content. These companies will further share their experience with other companies, platforms and operators of social networking tools.

“Internet is the space for freedom of speech, not for incitement of hatred. The code of conduct against illegal hate speech on the Internet, which has been agreed with the IT companies today, will ensure that the Internet has not space for public incitement to violence and hatred,” EU Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality Vera Jourova said.

Earlier, Facebook announced allocation of funds to fight hate speech in social networks.