EU moderation watchdog says social media giants hate taking down hate speech

Personal Tech

Also somehow censoring too much while refusing to hand over account ban evidence for review

The EU's moderation appeals watchdog says Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube routinely leave hate speech online while stonewalling attempts to independently review suspended accounts.Appeals Centre Europe, an Ireland-certified dispute settlement body operating under the EU's Digital Services Act, says it overturned platforms' decisions not to remove reported hate speech 70 percent of the time between April 2025 and March 2026, including content targeting migrants, Roma communities, religious minorities, and LGBTQI+ people.TikTok fared worst, with the Appeals Centre overturning its decisions in 83 percent of reviewed hate speech disputes, followed by Instagram at 74 percent, Facebook at 61 percent, and YouTube at 58 percent.

The report suggests that Europe's moderation accountability regime is functioning more or less how veteran tech policy watchers feared it might. In theory, the system gives EU users a free way to challenge moderation decisions through an independent review body. In practice, Appeals Centre Europe says platforms often fail to hand over the disputed content or account material needed to review cases.