However, little is known about how these bans are actually implemented in
practice or how effective they have been in reducing online hate speech on these
platforms or exposure to such speech more broadly. Moreover, the use of

https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108890960 Published online by Cambridge University Press

72

Alexandra A. Siegel

automatic hate speech detection has come under ﬁre in the media as the limits of
these methods have been highlighted by embarrassing mistakes – like when
Facebook’s proprietary ﬁlters ﬂagged an excerpt from the Declaration of
Independence as hate speech (Lapin 2018). While a February 2019 review by
the European Commission suggests that social media platforms including
Facebook and Google were successfully removing 75 percent of posts ﬂagged
by users that violate EU standards within 24 hours, we do not know what
portion of hate speech is ﬂagged or how this may be biased against or in favor of
certain types of political speech (Laub 2019).
Social_Media_and_Democracy