Abstract
This article analyses the systems of legal regulation of online social media platforms as regards to hate speech and misinformation in the US and the EU. It engages with the constitutional rights doctrines that allow platform regulation in Europe. It explains how the relationships between the government, private actors, the owners of social media platforms and the users of the platforms put to the test the constitutional doctrines that exist in the United States. It analyses the sophisticated system created by the Digital Services Act (DSA) in the EU and compares it with the regulation that exists in the US. The DSA enhances users’ rights and imposes important transparency requirements on platforms, while strengthening their obligations to address hate speech and misinformation. It engages with Moody v. NetChoice, the latest decision by the American Supreme Court on the topic and the regulatory options it allows. It discusses the differences in social media regulation in the US and the EU and explores whether they are likely to lead to a division of the internet. It examines the state of the art technology the platforms are using to detect hate speech and misinformation and evaluates the legal responses in the US and the EU in this respect. It also makes suggestions for further research that is needed to address hate speech, incitement to hatred and misinformation online.
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