Josephine Ballon

Josephine Ballon studied law at the University of Potsdam and has been a lawyer since 2018. In November
2019, she became Head of Legal at HateAid. Since September 2023, she has been co-leading the
organisation as co-executive director alongside Anna-Lena von Hodenberg.
Josephine Ballon is committed to improving the legal framework for victims of digital violence – who have
thus far been largely left unprotected – and to ensuring they have access to justice. Ms Ballon has been
invited on multiple occasions to serve as an expert witness, including before the Legal Affairs and Digital
Affairs Committees of the German Bundestag, as well as before the European Parliament, where she
provided testimony on issues related to the prosecution of hate crimes on the internet, gender-based digital
violence, and platform regulation. She served as a member of the first advisory board of the Digital Services
Coordinator in Germany until December 2025.
In December 2025, Josephine Ballon made international headlines: on 23 December, 2025, US Secretary of
State Marco Rubio imposed a travel ban on her and her co-CEO, Anna-Lena von Hodenberg. Since then, both
CEOs have been barred from entering the United States due to their advocacy against digital violence and in
favour of platform regulation.