SLDG: The Effects of Online Content Moderation on Youth Civic Engagement Across Political Regimes

This research paper examines how online content moderation and social media regulations shape youth political participation across different political regimes. Focusing on regulations across the United Kingdom, the United States, Kenya, Turkey, and China, this paper analyzes how and why different states moderate online content. This paper explores whether such content moderation facilitates or constrains the political participation and civic engagement of young people, who increasingly engage in political activity on digital platforms such as social media. Ultimately, this paper contributes to ongoing debates regarding freedom of expression in the media and explores the tension between preserving open digital spaces where youth may participate in political activity and protecting political discourse from misinformation, disinformation, and other online harms.