Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/248857 
Year of Publication: 
2021
Series/Report no.: 
ZEW Discussion Papers No. 21-103
Publisher: 
ZEW - Leibniz-Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung, Mannheim
Abstract: 
We analyze the impact of the Network Enforcement Act, the first regulation which aims at restraining hate speech on large social media platforms. Using a difference-in- differences framework, we measure the causal impact of the German law on the prevalence of hateful content on German Twitter. We find evidence of a significant and robust decrease in the intensity and volume of hate speech in tweets tackling sensitive migration-related topics. Importantly, tweets tackling other topics as well as the tweeting style of users are not affected by the regulation, which is in line with its aim. Our results highlight that legislation for combating harmful online content can influence the prevalence of hate speech even in the presence of platform governance mechanisms.
Subjects: 
Social Networks
User-Generated Content
Hate Speech
Policy Evaluation
JEL: 
H41
J15
K42
L82
L86
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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