Abstract
Content moderation has emerged as a critical challenge for social media governance, requiring platforms to balance user safety against freedom of expression. We develop a modelling framework comparing regulation-based and market-based approaches to content moderation governance. Under regulation-based governance, as in the EU’s Digital Services Act, governments mandate moderation standards and enforcement mechanisms. Under market-based governance, as practiced in the United States, platforms self-regulate in response to market demand. We examine how governance approaches shape platform moderation decisions and identify conditions under which each governance approach yields superior outcomes regarding user participation, moderation accuracy, and welfare, directly informing ongoing policy debates surrounding platform accountability and online harms regulation.
Recommended Citation
Hojati, Afrouz and Nault, Barrie R., "Content Moderation Governance in Social Media: Regulation-Based vs. Market-Based Approaches" (2026). ASAC 2026. 12.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/asac2026/12