This is such a thin line.. Huge, huge censorship red flag.
Right now in the US, there are many cases of people finding this and that as hate speech, which really is
not. This is also why a lot of comedians are "cancelled", because some find it offensive. (which is not the same as saying it is hate speech, just because you don't like it/find it offensive). Eg. "They are promoting anti-trans hate speech".
If some board moderators want to impose a much more strict moderation, they are free to do so though..
What is hate speech?
What is free speech?
In the US, the constitution protects the free speech. Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that most of what would qualify as hate speech in other western countries is legally protected free speech under the First Amendment.
Even experts struggle to find a balance here.
UN says that:
Freedom of opinion and expression is, indeed, a cornerstone of human rights and a pillar of free and democratic societies, as it supports other fundamental rights, such as the right to freedom of religion, to peaceful assembly and to participate in public affairs. It is undeniable that digital media including social media have contributed to sustaining the right to seek, receive and impart information and ideas. Therefore, legislative efforts to regulate free expression are, unsurprisingly, raising
concerns that attempts to curb hate speech could also contribute to silencing dissent and opposition.
As the key means to counter hate speech, the United Nations supports more speech - not less - and holds the full respect of freedom of expression as the norm.
Example from the EU code of conduct for hate speech: "For instance, public calls to kill all members of a certain religion or to burn down refugee shelters represent illegal hate speech." That's a pretty serious statement, everyone can understand that it would be hate speech.
However, this is while a lot of very liberal people, would say that
a lot of what is said online right now is hate speech. Much, much less severe than the above example. It will be a mess of mass reports and chaos.
Who wants EU to have control over shutting down websites due to "hate speech"?
I mean.. You have:
- Terrorism
- Child pornography
- "Hate speech"?
Which one doesn't belong there...
So some people are pissed at your site (they got banned), start making some alt accounts and reporting content and suddenly you have a problem with EU threatening to shut down your site or fining you if some random EU employees in their "ethical committee" find your content "hate speech"? Then they can ruin your business right there. It's insane.