Silhouettes of laptop and mobile device users are seen next to a screen projection of th Microsoft logo. Photo: Reuters / Dado Ruvic / Illustration.

An American NGO that seeks to fight antisemitism, especially online, has filed a legal complaint against Microsoft in Spain because its search engine Bing links to an antisemitic website.

The Lawfare Project — following up on a similar complaint filed against Google last year — holds that Microsoft has not taken action to stop antisemitic sites from appearing in search results.

If the court decides against Microsoft in this case, it could set a legal precedent, as it would be the first time a company is found liable for third-party content.

Brooke Goldstein, executive director of The Lawfare Project, said in a statement, “It’s extremely irresponsible for Microsoft and Bing to allow this offensive, anti-Jewish content to continue circulating on the internet in violation of the domestic law in Spain and the EU Directives on the matter.”

The group’s Spanish attorney, Ignacio-Wenley Palacios Iglesias, said, “The permanent, ubiquitous, and everyday influence internet service providers have on society as a whole cannot be understated.”

“The impact of these providers requires a level of structure and responsibility to address the most extreme, illegal content created by third parties that now enjoy immediate global access via the internet,” he added.

In the 2019 case, Google ultimately agreed to block antisemitic content in its search results, including neo-Nazi and Holocaust denial websites.