How have social media platforms’ dealings with disinformation and hate speech changed in recent years?

Over the past decade, US tech companies and the operators of major social media platforms have increased their efforts to combat disinformation, although this has been a slow and patchy process. Under intense public and legislative pressure, platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube have developed resources and established policies to address societal challenges such as disinformation in the context of Brexit and the 2016 Trump election, or hate speech in the immigration debate since 2015. Our research clearly shows that these developments were often triggered by political events and specific occasions, such as Facebook’s removal of the iconic Vietnam War photo in 2016.

Why do you think the term “censorship” is wrong in this context?

The fact that Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg are increasingly referring to moderation decisions as “censorship” is completely untenable from a scientific perspective. There is no empirical evidence that moderation decisions or fact-checking systematically favor left-wing actors and topics, nor does it make sense to speak of censorship in this context. Moderation is used to ensure the integrity of the social media platforms, not to restrict legitimate speech.

What do you think is behind the current developments of platforms like Meta and X?

Mark Zuckerberg’s rapprochement with the new Trump administration seems to be about more than just domestic political factors. The tech companies could use this opportunity to roll back the global trend towards responsibility and accountability. In fact, their business model is based on not taking responsibility and liability for the mass of automatically created and distributed content. There is an intent behind this lack of responsibility.

What are the implications of the tech companies’ new attitude for democratic society?

We are facing a fundamental clash. On the one hand, the EU is trying to force big tech companies to take responsibility. On the other side are CEOs like Musk and Zuckerberg who, together with the Trump administration, want to let their companies operate free of accountability. A victory for this new US alliance would undoubtedly be a loss and a setback for democratic society. Platforms are too deeply integrated into our structures to be left to the economic and political interests of a few tech bros. We need platforms that take responsibility.

Personal Profile

Prof. Dr. Christian Katzenbach investigates how digital platforms and new infrastructures, algorithms, artificial “intelligence” (AI,) and data are currently reorganizing communication, the public sphere, and society. He is Professor of Communication and Media Studies with a focus on media governance and platform economics at ZeMKI at the University of Bremen. His research interests include platform governance; artificial intelligence; discourses of the digital society; research data; open access funding; media and internet regulation. He heads the Platform Governance, Media and Technology lab.