Global survey shows rejection of unrestricted freedom of expression
Majority support moderation on social media platforms
The global debate on whether and how social media content should be regulated has flared up again in recent months. Citing freedom of expression, the platform operators X and Meta have relaxed regulations intended to restrict discriminatory statements. Meanwhile, Australia has banned social media access for children under 16.
However, the discussions and research on these issues focus mainly on the attitudes of companies, policy makers and the media. So far little attention has been paid to the opinions of social media users. To address this gap, a team of researchers at TUM and the University of Oxford surveyed around 13,500 people in six European countries and in the USA, Brazil, South Africa and Australia in the autumn of 2024. In this representative study the respondents answered an extensive questionnaire on the conflicting objectives of freedom of expression and safeguarding against digital abuse and misinformation.
Theocharis, Y., Kosmidis, S., Zilinsky, J., Quint, F. & Pradel-Sinaci, F. (2025). Content Warning: Public Attitudes on Content Moderation and Freedom of Expression. Content Moderation Lab at TUM Think Tank. DOI: 10.17605/OSF.IO/F56BH
For the representative study, around 13,500 people aged 16–69 in Australia, Brazil, Germany, France, Greece, the UK, Sweden, Slovakia, South Africa and the USA answered questionnaires in October and November 2024. The survey was coordinated by the public opinion research institute Bilendi & Respondi.
The project was part of the Content Moderation Lab of the TUM Think Tank, which brings together actors from the realms of science, civil society, politics and business to jointly develop proposals and instruments to address urgent problems.
The Chair of Digital Governance is part of the Munich School of Politics and Public Policy at TUM, which is dedicated to research and education on the interactions of politics and technology, which play a decisive role in almost all political spheres today. Through these activities it makes a significant contribution toward understanding and shaping the societal transformation resulting from rapid technological developments.
Technical University of Munich
Corporate Communications Center
- Klaus Becker
- klaus.becker@tum.de
- +49 89 289 22798
- presse@tum.de
- Teamwebsite
Contacts to this article:
Prof. Dr. Yannis Theocharis
Technical University of Munich (TUM)
Chair of Digital Governance
Tel.: +49 89 289 22798 (press office)
yannis.theocharis@hfp.tum.de
