A/HRC/46/57 against the interests of some of the most powerful corporate entities, with States sitting uncomfortably between the two. 25. Minorities are particularly vulnerable or disadvantaged in their use of and portrayal in online services such as social media. In addition to being the main targets of hate speech in social media, they can also be disproportionately affected by restrictions and removal measures in content moderation systems, as a result of bias in the notification systems themselves among users and third parties, and bias inherent in algorithms used in the content moderation tools, since behind every algorithm, there is a human. 26. This situation was not the one expected some 20 years ago when, perhaps naively, it was thought the Internet – and its offspring, social media – would simply provide humanity with amazing opportunities for fast, inexpensive means to communicate and exchange, and to support the transfer of information and education across borders almost instantaneously. The dichotomy of good and evil is as old as the story of the world itself, but it has been amplified and, because of the business model of some owners of social media platforms, intentionally directed so as to be monetized and more profitable. 27. The dark side of social media is now impossible to ignore, as they have become a breeding ground and propaganda vehicle for dangerous tropes, conspiracy theories, misinformation, disinformation, racism and scapegoating of minorities. Examples include a resurgence of some of the crudest forms of antisemitic propaganda, even all the way back to the Protocols of the Elders of Zion of more than a century ago. The events in the United States Capitol in January 2021 show that social media can be used to directly undermine democracy and stable societies, and as a propaganda tool for violence. 28. In the present report, some of these dimensions are considered with a view to better understanding, highlighting and providing guidance on the human rights obligations of States, corporations and other actors in relation to addressing the most prevalent instances of hate speech in social media, namely those targeting national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities. B. International human rights law: freedom of expression as the starting point 29. Even before the modern formulation of human rights, which emerged from the ashes of the Second World War and its horrors, the freedoms of opinion and expression were already presented as one of the pillars of a free, stable and democratic society. They offer a safe space in which individuals can be themselves and freely express their differences and diversity. The freedoms of opinion and expression are, in a sense, the oxygen of democracy. As the Human Rights Committee has pointed out, they are indispensable conditions for the full development of the person, and constitute the foundation stone for every free and democratic society.2 30. The freedoms of opinion and expression are widely recognized in universal and regional instruments as fundamental rights of all humans. 3 As the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression makes clear in his 2019 thematic report to the General Assembly, on online hate speech (A/74/486), the freedoms of opinion and expression should be viewed as a default starting point with only very strictly constructed restrictions. 31. The present report does not repeat the detailed and clear exposition of the central prominence and role of the freedoms of opinion and expression that the Special Rapporteur 2 3 General comment No. 34 (2011) on the freedoms of opinion and expression, para. 2. International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, art. 5; Convention on the Rights of the Child, art. 13; Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, art. 21; International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, art. 13; American Convention on Human Rights, art. 13; African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, art. 9; African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, art. 7; Arab Charter on Human Rights, art. 32; and Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, art. 10. 5