The government has announced a new crackdown on social media companies in a bid to tackle the most subtle forms of antisemitism.

The new legislation will force tech companies to remove not only illegal hate speech, but also the more nuanced types of antisemitism that seeps onto the internet, despite being supposedly already banned by their platforms’ own terms and conditions.

In an article for the JC, Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan accuses tech platforms of “letting hate flourish, knowing that it drives clicks and engagement”.

These companies have “prioritised profit over people”, the minister said.

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Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan says that, under her legislation, social media companies will be forced to tackle online antisemitism (stock photo via Getty Images)

As a result, Ms Donelan has today unveiled a revised form of the legislation first proposed by former prime minister Boris Johnson’s government that will force tech companies to act ”to the letter” on hate speech.

She said there are two levels to the proposed new laws. The first tackles antisemitism and hate speech that is already illegal under law but is often not taken down by tech platforms and is therefore allowed to spread unchecked.

And the second forces companies to remove content that is not currently illegal under law, but is against the platform’s own terms and conditions, which Donelan says will tackle “the more subtle forms of antisemitism, such as conspiracy theories and abusive comparisons”. 

Although the platforms could change their terms and conditions before the Bill becomes law, it is believed there is strong commercial incentive to ensure that hate is not allowed to proliferate, with Twitter having lost many advertisers following its new owner Elon Musk’s relaxation of the rules.

If they fail to remove the content that is both illegal and against the platforms’ own rules, they could be hit by fines of up to 10 per cent of their annual turnover and forced to tell users that they failed to remove the content under a new name-and-shame provision specifically requested by Jewish groups.

“Under my changes to the Bill, the terms and conditions that platforms set on antisemitism will have to be enforced to the letter,” Donelan writes. “No longer will they be allowed to treat some sections of society differently to others.”

The Community Security Trust (CST) cautiously welcomed the changes. The organisation praised the government for looking to introduce sanctions on companies that fail to remove hate for the first time, and also for forcing the platforms to enforce their own rules that already ban many types of anti-Jewish hate. However, the CST had hoped the bill would go further.

Dave Rich, Director of Policy at the CST, told the JC: “Online hate is the driver of so much of the extremism that threatens Jewish communities, and while this amended bill may not include everything we had hoped for, it still establishes some important principles and powers that we welcome as vital tools in the fight against antisemitism today. 

“For the first time, social media platforms can be held responsible for removing illegal content and there will be a range of powers and sanctions if they don’t. Just as importantly, platforms will be legally required to remove antisemitic content that breaches their own terms of service, which for most major platforms includes a wide range of anti-Jewish stereotypes and slurs. It is essential that this is rigorously enforced and that platforms are held to their existing terms of service. 

“We look forward to working with the government to make this bill a success and reduce the damaging impact of anti-Jewish hate and extremism online.”

READ MORE: My Online Safety Bill will force tech platforms to remove antisemitic hate - Michelle Donelan