The UK government has called on social media giants to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of anti-Semitism.
UK Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden urged adoption of the IHRA definition in letters sent to executives at Facebook, Instagram (which is owned by Facebook), Twitter, Google, TikTok and Snap.
He wrote that the definition is not legally binding “but it is an invaluable tool for organizations to understand how anti-Semitism manifests itself in the 21st Century and to tackle it,” reported the Jewish Chronicle.
Dowden made a similar statement in May in an interview with the Chronicle, alluding to the fact that he wanted to see social media firms adopt the IHRA definition.
During that meeting, the Board of Deputies, the main organization of the Jewish community in the UK, encouraged Dowden to make the case for the IHRA definition.
“We thank the Secretary of State for doing so and hope that in the coming period he will also write to Ofcom (the UK telecommunications authority) and ask them to use IHRA in their assessments of online anti-Semitism when they become the new regulator for social media,” Board of Deputies President Marie van der Zyl said.
Twitter and Facebook both stated they were reviewing Dowden’s letter and did not tolerate anti-Semitism and hate speech under their community guidelines.