Content Moderation and Freedom of Expression between Oligarchy and Populism - U.S. Legal Shifts, Meta's Oversight Board and European Futures
On the 14th of May 2025, the DFG Graduate School DynamInt and the Weizenbaum Institute had the honour of hosting Professor Paolo Carozza — Lead Co-Chair of the Oversight Board and Professor of Law and Political Science at the University of Notre Dame — for a thought-provoking keynote and panel discussion. Prof. Carozza explored the evolving landscape of content moderation policy in the United States, particularly in light of shifts under the new administration following the Trump era’s distinctive blend of populist (or autocratic) and oligarchic digital governance. In this context, the discussion of the inner workings of the Oversight Board and its procedural constraints from the perspective of its everyday practice revealed itself to be highly relevant for the scholars in attendance. Prof. Carozza emphasised the challenges that the Oversight Board faces in carrying out its mandate relative to the geopolitical shifts and policy changes at Meta, remaining optimistic that the independence of the Board will allow it to continue to be an exemplary force for the furtherance of freedom of expression on platforms.
Dr. Iglesias Keller and Dr. Schramm addressed the broader implications of these changes for platform governance, including the role of private adjudication through bodies like the Meta Oversight Board. They examined how these developments interact with regulatory frameworks in the European Union and emphasised the importance of experiments such as the Oversight Board in testing the consensual and voluntary arrangements that unfolded from global constitutionalism in times where the political momentum has shifted towards protectionism and autocracy. Stressing the dualities and contradictions of constitutional symbolism in this context, the discussants fell in agreement on the imperative that existing (quasi) legal institutions such as the Oversight Board should be mobilised to further the protection of users’ fundamental rights rather than serving to legitimise corporate power. Bringing together scholars and practitioners, the event sparked a timely debate on the legal and political challenges facing digital platforms and the mechanisms through which the safeguarding of fundamental rights online should be conceptualised.
