Josephine Ballon

Josephine Ballon studied law at the University of Potsdam and has been a solicitor since 2018. In November 2019, she became Head of Legal at HateAid. Since September 2023, she has been co-managing the organisation alongside Anna-Lena von Hodenberg as a managing director. Josephine Ballon is committed to improving the legal framework for victims of digital violence – who have so far been largely left without protection – and to ensuring they have access to justice. Ms Ballon has been invited on several occasions to appear as an expert witness, including before the Legal Affairs and Digital Affairs Committees of the German Bundestag, as well as the European Parliament, where she gave evidence on issues relating to the prosecution of online hate crimes, gender-based digital violence and platform regulation. She was 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-managing director, Anna-Lena von Hodenberg. Since then, both managing directors have been barred from entering the US due to their campaigning against digital violence and in favour of platform regulation.