TWITTER has been strongly criticised by MPs for hosting "vast swathes" of anti-Semitic hate speech and abuse.
The Commons Home Affairs Committee said it was "disgraceful" that Jewish people using the social media site were being subjected to "appalling" levels of online abuse, adding that the problem appeared to be growing "exponentially".
In a hard-hitting report, the committee said it had been "shocked" at the "viscerally anti-Semitic nature and volume" of tweets directed specifically at MPs.
It highlighted the case of Jewish MP, Luciana Berger, who was reported to have received 2,500 abusive tweets in just three days after being targeted by a US-based neo-Nazi website.
The report said: "It is disgraceful that any individual should have to tolerate such appalling levels of anti-Semitic abuse in order to use Twitter – a social media platform now regarded as a requirement for any public figure."
The committee said Twitter needed to act in a "proactive manner" to identify abusive users.
A Twitter spokesman said: "Hateful conduct has no place on Twitter and we will continue to tackle this issue head-on alongside our partners in industry and civil society."
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