COUNTERING HATE AND DISCRIMINATION ONLINE
Yet, online hate speech and harassment create a hostile digital environment for LGBTIQ+ people, affecting their safety, well-being and freedom of expression and contributing to a climate of fear and exclusion. The FRA’s third LGBTIQ survey supports this: 63% of LGBTIQ people said they had often or always encountered hateful content online that calls for violence against them. Moreover, LGBTIQ+ people and women are increasingly targeted by anti-gender narratives online, often as part of foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI) and disinformation campaigns. Foreign actors are increasingly well funded and use FIMI to manipulate public opinion, fuel polarisation, and interfere with democratic processes within the EU and worldwide. Such actions are a direct challenge to the EU’s core values of equality, respect for human dignity and non-discrimination.
Key actions by the European Commission:
✓ Combat conversion practices, based on the findings of a dedicated study, and considering the related European citizens’ initiative on this topic.
✓ Explore legal options to strengthen the criminal law framework to combat hate speech and hate crime within the existing Treaty provisions.
✓ Monitor the implementation of the Code of conduct+ on countering illegal hate speech online and create an online knowledge hub gathering relevant resources regarding illegal hate speech online.
✓ Adopt an action plan on cyberbullying by 2026.