Stockholm - "Jerusalem" dot com - Skyline International for Human Rights has expressed its deep concern about the escalation of violations against Palestinian content on social media, which are constantly monitored, stressing that the policy of restriction and prosecution pursued by those sites must be ended immediately.

The organization said in a statement issued today, Saturday, that it considers with great seriousness the shocking numbers of documented violations against Palestinian content through social media, in conjunction with the International Social Media Day, which falls on June 30 of each year, calling on those sites to respect Relevant international conventions and human rights rules for companies that guarantee freedom of publication and participation without restrictions or conditions.

And "Skyline" indicated that the "Journalist Support Committee" recorded more than 98 violations during the first half of this year 2022, as social media companies deleted, blocked and restricted many news sites and channels through "YouTube" and "Instagram" and " Facebook".

The committee stated, in a statement issued by it, that “among the violations, the Meta company deleted news groups affiliated with Al-Aqsa satellite channel via the WhatsApp application, as the number of deleted groups reached 20 news groups, and the YouTube administration also deleted several episodes of a series it produced.” The Middle Town Company, in cooperation with Al-Quds Al-Youm channel in the Gaza Strip, is broadcast by several Palestinian and Arab channels.

In its statement, the committee pointed out that “Facebook” deleted several pages of the “Quds Press” agency, and the “Encyclopedia of Palestinian Camps” page, which is the largest Palestinian documentation page on social media, while the “Tik Tok” platform and Facebook banned the Al-Qastal network. Al-Akhbariya from publishing, which is the network specialized in covering the events of Jerusalem, under the pretext of violating the standards and conditions of service.

The international organization indicated that the escalation of violations against Palestinian content coincided with the beginning of the popular and electronic movement that was launched by Palestinian activists in May of last year, which expanded to reach most countries of the world against the backdrop of Israeli violations against Palestinians in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, the events of Jerusalem and the Israeli aggression. On Gaza, confirming that the Israeli authorities - at the same time - submitted dozens of requests to social networking sites in order to restrict Palestinian content.

And "Skyline" stressed that the shocking numbers and unjustified practices that are continuously monitored by social networking sites constitute a clear violation of the legal rules that guarantee freedom of opinion, expression and publication, stressing that the competent international bodies must exercise their role in monitoring the work of these sites. .

The organization highlighted the importance of the "integrity and oversight committees" on social media taking concrete decisions against dozens of complaints that are sent on a daily basis by thousands of individuals whose accounts are subjected to unjustified harassment and restrictions.

Skyline concluded its statement by emphasizing that companies that own social media are required to respect the rules of international law and legal principles that guarantee in their various texts freedom of opinion and expression, and to reject any practice that would prejudice those rights or restrict individuals in their enjoyment of them, stressing that any infringement or The derogation of these rights constitutes a legal violation that requires accountability.