Cyberhate
- Media/internet
Cyberhate refers to hate speech that is discriminatory or degrading, spread via the internet and expressed through racist, homophobic, sexist, etc., remarks.
It can have serious consequences for victims and poses a systemic threat to diversity and inclusion in our society.
What is Cyberhate?
Cyberhate can be defined as the online use of any form of expression that spreads, incites, justifies, or promotes hatred, violence, or discrimination against a person or group - based on certain identity factors such as skin colour, origin, sexual orientation, or religious affiliation.
The digital environment encourages this hatred through anonymity, disinhibition, and the ease of global dissemination, which amplifies its psychological and social impact on victims.
Among the main types of online hate speech are racist, xenophobic, sexist, or homophobic remarks. Hate speech targeting Muslims, Jews, or other minority groups is also very common.
What is the difference with cyberbullying?
Cyberbullying is a form of cyberviolence, just like cyberhate.
Definition of cyberbullying
Cyberbullying is undesirable, persistent, or repeated online behavior intended to or having the effect of seriously undermining a person's peace of mind and/or dignity by creating an intimidating, hostile, hurtful, degrading, or humiliating environment.
Forms of cyberbullying
Cyberbullying can take various forms:
- intimidation
- threats
- insults
- spreading rumours
- compromising content, etc.
Difference with cyberhate
Cyberbullying differs from cyberhate in that it targets specific individuals and involves some form of repetition or duration.
What's illegal offline is illegal online
Some case examples:
- Court of Appeal of Antwerp, September 15, 2022: A woman affiliated with the far right was convicted by the Antwerp criminal court for posting hateful memes and videos on various social media platforms. These included insulting remarks about Muslims and messages denying the existence of the Holocaust.
- Criminal Court of Kortrijk, June 3, 2020: A man posted discriminatory and stigmatizing messages targeting Jews, people of African descent, and Muslims on various Facebook accounts he managed. The court convicted him for inciting hatred.
- Labour Court of Liège, Namur Division, June 9, 2022: A man was dismissed for serious misconduct after publishing racist, homophobic, and sexist comments in a closed Facebook group. The labour court ruled that the dismissal was justified.
Toward Regulation and Accountability of Platforms to Control Cyberhate
A Regulation on Digital Services (DSA)
To ensure a safer online environment, where the rights of all citizens are respected, the EU has adopted an ambitious regulation on digital services: the Digital Services Act (DSA).
Cyberhate, cyberbullying, defamation, manipulation, disinformation, counterfeiting... These are some of the abuses that the DSA seeks to restrict by imposing new, stricter obligations on all online platforms regarding transparency and due diligence on illegal content.
The DSA in Belgium
The DSA is a European regulation, which means it has been directly applicable since its entry into force on February 17, 2024, without needing to be transposed into Belgian law.
Each EU Member State appoints one or more competent authorities to oversee the implementation.
In Belgium, due to the various competencies involved at both federal and community levels, four competent authorities have been designated:
- BIPT for the federal level
- Vlaamse Regulator voor de Media (VRM) for the Flemish Community
- Conseil Supérieur de l’Audiovisuel (CSA) for the French Community
- Medienrat for the German-speaking Community
The DSA also requires each Member State to appoint a national coordinator. In Belgium, this coordinator is BIPT.
A Code of Conduct for Social Media Operators
The Digital Services Act also includes a Code of Conduct+.
This is a revised version of the original voluntary code of conduct adopted in 2016 to combat cyberhate. It has now been incorporated into the DSA to reinforce measures taken by platform operators.
These operators voluntarily commit to implementing measures aimed at reducing the spread of hate speech through their services, as well as increasing transparency in their decisions on content moderation.
Signatories of the Code of Conduct+ include: Facebook, Instagram, Jeuxvideo.com, LinkedIn, Dailymotion, Snapchat, Rakuten Viber, TikTok, Twitch, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, and Microsoft-hosted consumer services.
Are You Facing Cyberhate?
Are you encountering hate speech online? The first step is to report the illegal content to the platform administrator and request its removal.
Major online platforms are required to moderate hate speech and illegal content.
Want to take action or moderate a group or page? Check out our tips for managing online hate speech.
If the hate messages seem particularly serious or if you are the victim, report it to the police and notify Unia as well.
In such cases, please send a link to the message along with a screenshot of the message and its context, as we cannot properly assess the situation without these.
Related content
What is hate speech?
Hate speech consists of statements that attack or insult a person or group. Such statements are punishable by law if they exceed the legal limits of freedom of speech.
How to respond to online hate speech?
Hateful, racist, homophobic... posts on the Internet: how should you respond to this hate speech? Find out more from.
What does Unia do against online hate speech?
At Unia, we combat criminal hate speech in a variety of ways for the protected features for which we have jurisdiction. Find out more details about our approach to hate speech.
- Media/internet