22/05/2026
This month marks the 10th anniversary of the EU Code of Conduct on countering illegal hate speech online (CoC).
In May 2016, the European Commission reached an agreement with major social media platforms like Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter, and YouTube to establish this Code, and other social media companies have since joined. In January 2025, a revised version known as Code of Conduct+ was incorporated into the new Digital Services Act.
INACH has been actively involved in developing monitoring exercises to assess how effectively the platforms uphold the commitments outlined in the Code.
Here is our take on how it all played out:
🟢 The Code initiated important communication between social media platforms and civil society organizations.
🟢The Code was a milestone in the professionalization and institutionalization of holding platforms accountable for the content that appears online.
🟠 However, the implementation of the Code has varied over the years when it comes to reviewing and removing illegal hate speech, and it failed to establish a consistent system across countries, languages, and platforms.
🟠 We have noticed concerning signs in the monitoring of the Code of Conduct+ during its first year. The results raise concerns that the recent changes and the institutionalisation of the Code under the DSA may not, in practice, lead to a reduction in illegal hate speech online.
Online hate speech continually evolves, and we cannot examine it as isolated incidents. We now see a broader ecosystem that blends disinformation, hate, and AI-driven narratives.
👉 Read more on our blog: https://www.inach.net/more-than-just-rules-reflecting-on-10-years-of-the-code-of-conduct/
