A/HRC/26/49 I. Introduction 1. The present report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 16/33. It builds upon the report of the Special Rapporteur submitted to the General Assembly (A/67/326), in which he examined issues relating to the use of new information technologies, including the Internet, for disseminating racist ideas, hate messages and inciting racial hatred and violence. It also builds upon reports of previous mandate holders, taking into account recent developments and information gathered in particular through an expert meeting and research conducted by the Special Rapporteur. 2. The present report should be considered together with the previous report of the Special Rapporteur, in which he raised concerns at the use of the Internet and social media by extremist groups and individuals to disseminate racist ideas and to propagate racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. States, national human rights institutions, civil society organizations and academics have also expressed concern regarding the increased use of the Internet and social media to proliferate, promote and disseminate racist ideas by extremist political parties, movements and groups. Concerns have also been raised about the rising number of incidents of racist violence and crimes against, in particular, ethnic and religious minorities and migrants, and the lack of adequate data on such violence and crimes. Extremist groups and movements, particularly far-right movements, use the Internet and social media networks not only as a means to disseminate hate speech and incite racial violence and abuse against specific groups of individuals, but also as a recruitment platform for potential new members. 3. Although there are a number of legal, regulatory, technical and other practical challenges to the fight against racism and incitement to hatred and violence on the Internet, the enforcement of laws and regulations is challenging owing to the complexity occasioned by the lack of clarity of legal terms. The effectiveness of national legislation also becomes limited since States adopt differing laws, policies or approaches with regard to hate or racist content on the Internet. In addition, due to their transborder nature, cases related to racism, incitement to racial hatred and violence through the Internet most often fall under different jurisdictions, depending on where the inappropriate or illegal content was hosted and created and where hate crimes prompted by such racist or xenophobic content took place. 4. The unprecedented, rapid development of new communication and information technologies, including the Internet, has enabled wider dissemination of racist and xenophobic content that incites racial hatred and violence. In response, States, international and regional organizations have undertaken a variety of legal and policy initiatives. Civil society organizations have also contributed to addressing this phenomenon through various measures and initiatives. Some technological measures have also been initiated by the private sector, including social media platforms and networks. A more comprehensive approach to combat the challenge is however necessary. Such an approach should involve dialogue and consultation among the relevant actors and stakeholders. 5. In the present report, the Special Rapporteur, after providing an overview of his activities, examines the context, key trends, manifestations of racism on the internet and social media (sections A and B). He then provides an overview of the legal and policy frameworks and measures taken at the international, regional and national levels, and also some of the regulatory frameworks adopted by Internet and social network providers (section C). He then presents different examples of measures for responding to the use of the Internet and social media to propagate racism, racial hatred, xenophobia, racial discrimination and related intolerance (section D), while highlighting the positive contribution of the Internet and social media as an effective tool for combating racism, 3