Constitutional Adaption to Conflict and Competition in Algorithmic Society: In Search of Proportional Solutions to Political Harms on Social Media Platforms

This chapter argues that the current state of political competition within states, conflict and competition between states has a defining impact on the evolution of social media governance in the algorithmic society. Specifically, I look into the situation concerning the regulation of election-related speech on social media platforms. It will be claimed that the situation has led to politicized perceptions of content moderation policies. Such outcomes are detrimental to the quality of democratic debate. It is argued that there are means of constitutional adaptation that could mitigate them. The means are provided by binding human rights instruments of global and regional scope. Constitutional adaptation could be a rules-based option for European policymakers, who are facing a social media landscape that is dominated by actors from outside the continent. The term `constitution' is understood broadly to encompass the treaties of the European Union and the relevant international human rights obligations, particularly the European Convention on Human Rights. Realizing the potential of the Digital Services Act, European policymakers can guide social media platforms to better regulation of election-related content. To achieve that, policymakers can integrate existing advisory standards in the field of elections. The emphasis should be made both on preventing misinformation and on protecting political competition.