Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram apps are seen on a smartphone in this illustration taken, July 13, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission on Wednesday pledged to step up its fight against hate crimes throughout Europe, as ongoing military conflicts have been fuelling antisemitic and anti-Muslim incidents across the continent.
"Europe is experiencing an alarming increase in hate speech and hate crime and evidence shows that Jewish and Muslim communities are particularly affected," the commission said in a statement.
The commission said it would increase spending on the protection of places of worships, including an increase of 5 million euros ($5.4 million) to address threats of rising antisemitism.
It said it would also push for stronger rules to counter illegal hate speech and other threats online under a code of conduct signed with online platforms, to be finalised in the next three months, in addition to the stricter regulation for large online platforms that has been introduced earlier this year in the Digital Services Act.
The current code of conduct dates back to 2016, when Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Microsoft agreed to tackle online hate speech within 24 hours in Europe. More platforms like Instagram, TikTok or LinkedIn have joined it since.
The commission said it would also support training for journalists on upholding media standards and recognising hate speech, while increasing support to fact checkers within the EU and the Arab speaking world.
($1 = 0.9272 euros)
(Reporting by Piotr Lipinski, editing by Bart Meijer)
