Eurostat: 42.3% of EU Internet Users Encountered Hostile Online Messages in 2025
According to a report released by Eurostat, 42.3% of internet users across the European Union encountered online messages they perceived as hostile or degrading toward specific groups or individuals in 2025. The findings are based on data collected from 20 EU member states. The prevalence of such content varied significantly by country, with Hungary recording the highest rate at 60.9%, followed by Finland (56.7%) and Slovakia (56.2%). In contrast, Latvia (29.3%), Greece (29.4%), Germany (33.7%), and Lithuania (33.8%) reported the lowest shares, while Romania aligned with the European average. The analysis further categorized the targets of this online hostility. Political or social views were the most common basis for attacks, affecting 33.7% of users who saw such content. Other frequent targets included racial and ethnic origin (25.5%), sexual orientation (23.4%), and religion or beliefs (22.8%). Less frequently, messages targeted gender, disability, age, or other personal characteristics. This report highlights the persistent challenge of online hate speech and digital safety within the EU.
Editorial responsibility
- No named human review is recorded for this page.
- Reports are grouped by semantic similarity and deterministic rules. Language models may assist titles, summaries, translation and cross-source analysis; the page itself is projected from evidence records.
- Current automated evidence projection