Spain has announced a significant move to launch a tool to measure hate speech on digital platforms. The primary motive behind the revelation is to call for a broader strategy to tighten the regulation of social media platforms, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez confirmed in a statement released on Wednesday.
Earlier this month, the country revealed a master plan to regulate social media, including a ban on its use by younger teenagers and crucial measures to hold platform executives accountable for hateful content hosted on their services.
The new tool HODIO-an acronym in Spanish for Footprint of Hatred and Polarisation-will allow the government to methodically monitor the presence, amplification, and impact of hate speech online. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez stated that online hate was causing deep divisions in society and that it was crucial to start initiating talks about the “footprint of hate” in the same way society discusses the carbon footprint.
In this connection, Prime Minister Pedro said: “We want to start talking about the impact of hate. When something is measured, it ceases to be invisible.”
Nonetheless, the results of the new tool deployment results will be made public, allowing citizens to see “who is blocking this content, who is looking the other way, and who is profiting from it.”