Josephine Ballon
CEO at HateAid
Biography
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.