ISOC-IL’s Internet Safety Hotline, together with its BLOCK Civilian Cyber Protection Platform, serves as a vital resource for Israeli internet users, offering guidance, tools, and support to prevent and address a wide range of online threats. As a first responder to hundreds of monthly reports, the Hotline provides valuable insights into the evolving landscape of online abuse in Israel. Recognized as a trusted partner by major social media platforms, web hosting services, and URL shorteners, it works directly with them to flag and report harmful, malicious, and illegal content.
This 2024 year-end report presents detailing data and statistics on user reports received throughout the year, as well as content removal requests submitted to online platforms and services. The report provides insights into user demographics, the types and nature of reported harm, the platforms involved, and the response rates of the various platforms.
Cyber threats (hijacking of social media accounts, cyber fraud, financial scams and extortion) remained a dominant concern in 2024, making up 45% of all reports received by the hotline, marking a significant increase from 36% of all reports last year. Social media account hijacking comprised the lion’s share of cyber attacks reported, accounting for 27% of all reports in 2024 with approximately 1,100 reports—a rise of 300 cases from 2023. Meanwhile, 33% of reports in 2024 related to online violence and abuse.
During 2024 ISOC-IL expanded its network of partnerships with key platforms and organizations in 2024, with Roblox and Discord—two of the most popular gaming platforms—joined the list of leading digital platforms that recognize the Hotline as an official reporting entity. These platforms now stand alongside Meta, Google, YouTube, TikTok, X (Twitter), various link shorteners, and other major web services and apps, in partnering with the ISOC-IL Internet Safety Hotline to enhance the online safety of the Israeli public.
A major shift in platform-related complaints was observed in 2024. WhatsApp emerged as the most frequently reported platform, accounting for 21.7% of all complaints received by the Hotline. Facebook, which previously held the top spot, ranked second with 19% of reports. Among Arab society in Israel, which constitutes approximately one fifth of Israel’s population, TikTok emerged as a major hotspot for online harm. 15% of reports from this demographic involved TikTok-related content—three times higher than the rate in the general population.
In an official statement on the report’s findings, Edan Ring, ISOC-IL’s Vice President of Community Affairs, commented:
“This is further evidence that the war has reached the doorsteps of all citizens of the country in the digital arena. The number of attempts to attack and harass citizens on the cyber front has grown by 30% in the past year. 94% of the Israel Internet Association’s requests have succeeded in removing harmful content from the leading platforms and our organization continues to help citizens report and remove harmful content, but the first line of defense against attacks must be the citizens themselves – by strengthening protective measures such as two-step verification and passwords, reporting directly to the platforms and the Internet Safety Hotline, and increasing vigilance and caution in cyberspace as well.”
For the full report in Hebrew: Internet Safety Hotline 2024 End-of-Year Summary
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