No Content Without Context: Regulating Hate Speech on Social Media

The paper examines the regulation of hate speech on social media through a comparative and context-sensitive lens. It argues that platform moderation policies—dominated by automated tools and content-based assessments—fail to capture the cultural, political, and historical contexts that shape the meaning and harm of speech. Drawing on empirical evidence linking online hate to offline violence, the study contrasts European and US regulatory models, highlighting the risks of both overreach and under-enforcement in context-blind moderation. It proposes a shift toward context-aware governance combining algorithmic precision with human expertise, locally grounded decision-making, and alignment with international human rights standards. The paper concludes that meaningful regulation of hate speech requires a pluralistic, evidence-based approach attuned to global diversity and power imbalances.