Should platforms be confined to liability for hate speech? – A comparative analysis of the European Court of Human Rights and the United States

The issue of hate speech on social media has become a growing concern in recent years. Elon Musk, who defines himself as a “freedom of speech absolutist,” has been a controversial figure in the debate on this issue, with his platform of choice Twitter, now known as X, seeing an unprecedented rise in hate speech.1 The dissemination of hate speech and speech inciting violence can occur rapidly and sometimes remain persistently available online, as observed by the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Delfi v Estonia.2 As Murray argues, while online platforms have been struggling to keep up with the overwhelming production of obscene and indecent material, ‘the failure of laws to adequately cross borders have exasperated the issue.’3