Cyprus parliamentary committee examines rise of online hate speech

The House Human Rights Committee in Cyprus recently reconvened to address the persistent issue of hate speech in Greek-language online content. Committee chair Christos Christofides reported that approximately 1,000 hate speech comments are generated every 24 hours. Data suggests that 48 percent of these posts contain Nazi-related content, 21 percent involve Holocaust denial or distortion, 11 percent are homophobic, and 10 percent target refugees.

Andreas Anastasiades, head of the Police Cybercrime Subdirectorate, explained that law enforcement lacks a dedicated unit for these offenses, relying instead on two assigned officers per district. Investigations are often hampered by the refusal of US-based social media companies to shut down anonymous accounts, frequently citing freedom of expression protections. Furthermore, the use of VPNs by suspects makes tracking difficult, and the formal request process for user data from overseas firms remains time-consuming. Recorded incidents of hate speech dropped from 57 in 2023 to 44 in 2025, with a corresponding decline in opened criminal cases from 32 to 18 during the same period. The committee continues to evaluate legislative and procedural avenues to improve enforcement against online incitement.