Are the targets of online harm on social media eligible for asylum under U.S. law? A crucial consideration in answering this question is whether online harm may be evidence of past persecution. No U.S. court has adequately addressed this issue. 

On January 11, 2021, the U.S. Departments of Homeland Security and Justice added a new definition of persecution for the first time to their respective regulations. The new definition could be interpreted to exclude or limit online harm as evidence of past persecution. Such an interpretation reflects neither existing legal precedent addressing offline harms nor the realities of online harm on social media. 

This Article proposes two frameworks for addressing online harm in U.S. asylum claims. Under one proposed framework, online harm is evidence of overall or cumulative past persecution. Under the other framework, online harm by itself is past persecution. Both frameworks are supported by U.S. precedents addressing offline harms and reflect the unique and novel characteristics of online harm, including its potential to amplify injury and offend an asylum-seeker’s right to privacy and right to be forgotten. 

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