On January 20, 2025, the European Commission and the European Board for Digital Services announced the integration of the “Code of Conduct on Countering Illegal Hate Speech Online +” (Code of Conduct +) into the Digital Services Act (DSA). Code of Conduct + was signed by Dailymotion, Facebook, Instagram, Jeuxvideo.com, LinkedIn, Microsoft hosted consumer services, Snapchat, Rakuten Viber, TikTok, Twitch, X and YouTube. It built on the original code of conduct which was signed in 2016 by Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter and YouTube.

Code of Conduct + aims to enhance user safety by strengthening oversight of major online platforms and reinforcing the fight against harmful content in accordance with EU law. The European Commission emphasized that the updated code, consistent with Article 45 of the DSA,  is designed to address the challenges posed by evolving online threats, including different forms of illegal content and systemic risks.

The revised code introduced new obligations for platforms, including a requirement to provide country-level data on hate speech classification and to create a network of "monitoring reporters." The monitoring reporters are public entities that will oversee how platforms handle hate speech issues. Additionally, platforms are required to review at least two-thirds of hate speech notices received from monitoring reporters within 24 hours.

The integration of the Code of Conduct + into the DSA is expected to reshape perceptions of security on social media. The DSA empowers European Union authorities to request or retain information from social media companies to safeguard user integrity. European Commission reports showed that the percentage of hate speech content removed increased from 28% in 2016 to 72% in 2019 with the initiation of the original code.

The next phase will focus on assessing the success of the Code of Conduct +'s implementation through continuous monitoring of platform compliance with the DSA’s regulations.