Research Record: People Favor Sanctioning Extreme Online Hate Speech (Princeton School of Public and International Affairs)

Even though Germany and the US have different histories of free speech, there is agreement that extreme hate speech must be prohibited. In general, users were 34 percentage points more likely to suggest platform punishments for severe insults and 55 percentage points more likely to suggest sanctions for highly violent messages than for mildly discriminating ones. Many refrained from suggesting penalties that went beyond the platform, such fines or jail time: around one-third of Germans and half of Americans were against such measures. However, the U.S. study made clear how difficult it is to define what constitutes hate: when hate speech originated from a group that shared their beliefs, people were more accepting of it, and when it originated from a group that disagreed with them, they were more critical of it. Additionally, the study discovered experimental proof that exposure to hate speech lowers tolerance for opposing viewpoints.

https://spia.princeton.edu/news/research-record-people-favor-sanctioning-extreme-online-hate-speech