Incidents of online hate and harassment targeting two Belgian politicians will be forwarded to the telecoms regulator BIPT, according to the Federal Digitalisation Minister, Vanessa Matz.
The minister is flagging comments directed at Flemish Minister Melissa Depraetere and French-speaking politician Stéphanie Cortisse.
"As I have said before, what is not acceptable in real life should not be acceptable on the internet either," said Matz (Les Engagés).
Minister Depraetere was inundated with hate comments on social media after going on early maternity leave last week on doctor's advice because the risk of her child being born prematurely was too great.
Meanwhile, Stéphanie Cortissea, a local politician for MR in Verviers near Liège, received a lot of online abuse after defending her party chairman Georges-Louis Bouchez in an interview with l'Avenir.
Matz is referring both incidents to the telecoms regulator BIPT, "so that the European Commission can look into the matter and put pressure on online platforms to take responsibility for the content they host and amplify with their algorithms," she said.
The Federal Minister further advised Depraetere and Cortisse themselves to file complaints with the police and the courts.
In the meantime, Matz has affirmed that she is working on "robust legislation" to put an end to anonymous online hate.
"We must ensure that everyone can express themselves without being threatened or attacked, or silenced by online hate," she said.
