Israel will regulate social media companies to curb illegal content

By Steven Scheer

JERUSALEM – December 14, 2014 (Reuters) – Israel stated Wednesday that it intends to regulate social media sites such as TikTok. YouTube, Meta’s Facebook, Twitter and Meta’s Facebook. It is following the European Union’s example in tackling illegal and offensive content online.

Yoaz Hendel, the outgoing Communications Minister, stated that he will place responsibility on social media companies to deal with illegal and offensive content. Additionally, he will create more transparency towards users and establish a regulator to oversee companies.

These regulations will apply to platforms that have more than 500,000 users in Israel. This is 5% of Israel’s population. (Reporting courtesy of Steven Scheer. Jane Merriman edits