First results published under the revised Code of Conduct on Countering Illegal Hate Speech Online +

In more detail

The results of the first monitoring exercise under the revised Code of Conduct on Countering Illegal Hate Speech + were published, including data from independent monitoring reporters and self-assessed data from the Code's signatories.

The results combine two key elements: a monitoring exercise measuring how quickly platforms respond to notifications of alleged illegal hate speech, and a self-assessment from signatory platforms outlining how they address hateful content on their services, which all signatories submitted.

The first monitoring exercise under the revised Code ran from early-November until mid-December 2025. While every signatory agreed to participate in the monitoring exercise, only 5 (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube) received relevant notifications by monitoring reporters during the reporting period.

The results of this monitoring exercise, which is the first under the revised Code+, highlight that the platforms involved maintained their commitment to review the majority of notifications about alleged illegal hate content within 24 hours and that overall they provided systematic feedback to notifications.

However, the assessment found all signatories covered by the monitoring exercise, with the exception of X, considered that a significant share of cases was either disputed or classified as errors. A significant amount of error cases appears to be due to incorrect reporting channels used by monitoring reporters.

The monitoring exercise is one of the key commitments under the Code. It is a 'mystery shopping' stress-test of maximum 6 weeks to check if signatories meet their commitment to review the majority (at least 50%) of notices received from monitoring reporters within 24 hours. Monitoring reporters are not-for-profit or public entities with expertise on illegal hate speech in at least one EU Member State.

The main goal is for signatories to swiftly review the content reported through the DSA notice and action mechanism, and take measures if considered illegal hate speech, i.e. public incitement to violence or hatred.

In line with the Code of Conduct+, the Commission ensures the publication of these results to enable accountability, transparency and public scrutiny. It also invites signatories and other stakeholders to engage with the findings more broadly, including by identifying or addressing any gaps, in the preparation of the 2026 monitoring cycle. The comprehensive self-assessment reports of all Signatory platforms are also publicly available.

You can access the reports for:

• Dailymotion
• Meta
• Microsoft
• Youtube

The other reports can be downloaded as a PDF below.

Background

The Code of Conduct on Countering Illegal Hate Speech+ strengthens the way online platforms deal with alleged illegal hate speech content, as defined under national criminal law provisions, including those stemming from European Union laws.

On 20 January 2025, at the request of the Signatories of the Code of Conduct+, the Commission and the European Board for Digital Services endorsed thit as a code of conduct in the sense of Article 45 DSA. On the basis of that decision, the Code now forms part of the co-regulatory framework of the Digital Services Act.

The Code of Conduct+ builds on the original Code of Conduct adopted in 2016. In the ten years since the Code has existed, 7 Monitoring Exercises have taken place under it. However, as the methodology of the Monitoring Exercise has changed significantly, the results of the 2025 monitoring are not comparable with those of past reports.

Of the 12 Signatories to the Code+, 7 have been designated as Very Large Online Platforms or Very Large Online Search Engines under the Digital Services Act (DSA) due to having 45 million or more monthly users in the EU: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, X and Snapchat.

For these signatories, adherence to the commitments in the Code is subject to independent annual auditing, and the Code serves as a relevant benchmark for determining their compliance with the risk assessment framework outlined in Article 35 of the DSA. The other 5 platforms are Dailymotion, Jeuxvideo.com, Microsoft-hosted consumer services, Rakuten Viber and Twitch.