CASE UPDATE: The Lawfare Project files libel lawsuit against Microsoft Corporation

Dear friends,

At a time of increased scrutiny on Big Tech companies and the role they play in the spread of dangerous misinformation, anti-Semitic content is still allowed to run rampant online. Now, in partnership with our Spanish counsel, Ignacio Wenley Palacios, The Lawfare Project is providing legal support to two Jewish Spaniards who have filed a lawsuit against Microsoft Corporation for failing to block illegal racist and defamatory search results from its Bing search engine.

You may remember that, last March, The Lawfare Project filed a complaint against Microsoft in the Courts of Ibiza. The Lawfare Project had previously notified the company that such racist and abusive content was not only offensive but defamatory to Jewish people, and demanded that it be blocked from the search engine's results in compliance with Spanish law. After Microsoft failed to heed the warning, the libel lawsuit was filed.

This is not the first time we have taken Big Tech to task over online anti-Semitic content. In a similar case involving Google LLC, The Lawfare Project secured a major victory when it reached an understanding with Google to change its content moderation policy in Spain and remove defamatory content targeting the Jewish people.

Today, one can deploy a search on Bing that will readily yield results related to the extermination of the Jewish people, results accusing Jews of seeking world domination, and other virulently anti-Semitic content. Not only are these results incredibly harmful to the Jewish community at large, but Bing's allowance of the results on its platform violates both Spanish and European Union law. With this lawsuit, we are seeking to enforce the law to prevent such despicable and dangerous material from appearing in Bing search results.

The Lawfare Project will continue to stand up to anyone who endangers Jews by enabling immediate access to hateful, racist, and illegal propaganda. Thank you, as always, for your support as we take on the spread of defamatory anti-Semitic content online.

Sincerely,

Brooke Goldstein
Executive Director, The Lawfare Project