Reports of illicit content online increased sharply in 2023, an increase linked to anti-Semitism, according to Gérald Darmanin

The increase observed is “90% due to anti-Semitic reports found on internet platforms”, assured the Minister of the Interior on Tuesday.

The Pharos platform, which allows illicit content to be reported online, received 211,543 reports in 2023, compared to 175,924 in 2022, said the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, before the Senate on Tuesday February 27. According to him, this increase is mainly due to anti-Semitic content, against the backdrop of the war between Israel and Hamas in retaliation for the October 7 attacks in the Jewish state.

Last year, reports on Pharos mainly concerned “pedophile or child molestation content”, while those relating to the apology of terrorism were “actually quite few”, detailed Gérald Darmanin before the Law Commission. The increase observed is “90% due to anti-Semitic reports found on internet platforms”assured the minister, deploring that “we cannot make the big platforms listen to reason” Who “must obviously intensify their work of moderating hateful content”.

On this point, “we have a very serious problem, particularly with the X-Twitter platform” since“there is now much less moderation with the new policy of its leader”. “75% of apologetic or anti-Semitic content was on Twitter”insisted the minister, regretting “that there is no equivalent of Arcom for social networks”which are “sometimes more effective in propaganda than certain news channels”.

A “particularly dramatic” year

Gérald Darmanin reported “more than 12,000 reports” for anti-Semitism on the Pharos platform, “related to the conflict” between Israel and Hamas since October 7. The Minister of the Interior deplored a year “particularly dramatic” with “an increase that has no equivalent” anti-Semitic acts (+284% to 1,676, as the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France revealed at the end of January). At the start of the year, anti-Semitic acts increased “relative decline”noted the minister, without however giving figures.

Last year, anti-Christian acts fell 7% to 854, and anti-Muslim acts increased 29%, to 242. But “there is also a hidden continent of anti-Muslim acts” which are “often” the work of “ultra-right activists”underlined the minister.