Removal of Content and Account Cancellation on Social Networks
The most widely used network in the countries surveyed is Facebook (85%), followed by WhatsApp (58%), Instagram (55%), and YouTube (55%). On average, 22% of users from the V4+5 countries have posts on their profile public. Public posts are least common among Finns (16%), Czechs and French (19%). Slovaks and Estonians are at 22%, while 23% of Hungarians and 25% of Germans also have public posts. Poles and Slovenians leave the most posts open (27%). These are mainly men and people over 55 years of age.
In the current wave, 9% of social media users in the countries surveyed said that content had been removed from their social media accounts in the past year. Most posts were deleted on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Poland (15%) and Hungary (13%) are the countries where users’ content was deleted most often. Content was also deleted for 10% of Slovenian users, 9% of Finnish network users, 8% in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, 7% in France, and the least in Germany and Estonia (6%). This was more common among people under the age of 34.
Most often, content was deleted directly by the platform (39%), while page administrators or user-moderators deleted 24% of content on social networks in the countries surveyed. In Poland (31%) and Slovenia (35%), content was more often removed by administrators, with 24% removed by the platform in Poland and 33% of users’ content removed by the platform in Slovenia. The highest number of users whose content was removed by the platform was in Germany (49%), where 22% of content was removed by administrators. In the Czech Republic, 39% of content was removed by the platform and 16% by administrators, while in Slovakia, 42% of content was deleted by the platform and 24% by administrators.
Content was deleted from the platform mainly because of political opinions (12%), especially in the Czech Republic (24%). In Slovakia and Germany, 15% of users cited this reason, in Slovenia 14%, in Poland 7%, and in Finland only 3% of users whose content was deleted. In Poland, 20% of users had content deleted by the social network due to personal photos, while in France 14% of users cited the same reason. On average, 39% of users appealed against the deletion of content. The highest percentage was in the Czech Republic (50%) and Germany (48%), and the lowest in Poland (24%). On average, however, only 20% of appeals were successful.
On average, 3% of users deleted their entire accounts last year. The main reasons were hacker attacks, account inactivity, or violations of platform rules.
Chat Control 2.0
At the end of November 2025, representatives of the European Union member states agreed on a proposal to combat the spread of online material depicting child sexual abuse. This proposed regulation was noticed by an average of 22% of people in the V4+5 countries. It was most frequently noticed in Germany (28%) and Slovenia (27%), but also often in Czechia (26%) and Poland (26%). In Estonia, only 12% of people noted the proposed regulation. The Chat Control 2.0 regulation was more often noticed by men, as well as young people under 34 years of age.
In connection with the upcoming European regulation, an average of 58% of the population in the countries surveyed believe that European authorities will use the CSAM regulation only for its intended purpose of protecting children from sexual abuse and that the upcoming European CSAM regulation will contribute to a safer online environment.
Czechs are the most skeptical about these statements. Only 53% of them believe that European authorities will use the CSAM regulation solely for its intended purpose, and less than half of the Czech population (48%) believe that CSAM will contribute to a safer online environment. The French (67%) and Slovenians (64%) are confident that the regulation will contribute to a safe online environment. Estonians and Finns (63%) also share this confidence in improved safety. Poles (53%), Hungarians (55%), and Slovaks (55%) are more skeptical, as are Czechs. However, Slovenians are the most concerned (51%) of all countries that someone could send them a file that could be flagged as malicious and in violation of the CSAM regulation when scanning their device. On average, 38% of the populations of the V4+5 countries admitted to having concerns about such a situation.
Awareness of the DSA Regulation in Practice
At the beginning of December last year, the European Commission imposed a fine of CZK 2.9 billion on company X for breaching its transparency obligations under the Digital Services Act (DSA). This was the first fine imposed under the DSA. In connection with this, the owner of company X, Elon Musk, and US President Donald Trump accused the European Commission of censorship. Although most people across countries still agree that they do not have enough information about the DSA as a whole (63%), 34% of people in the countries surveyed were aware that the European Commission had imposed this fine on company X. This was most common in Germany (49%), but a significant proportion of people are also aware of the case in Poland (39%) and Finland (39%). People in Estonia (20%) and France (24%) were the least likely to be aware of the fine. These countries are also the least informed about the DSA regulation overall (70%). Men were more likely to be aware of the fine imposed on company X, as were people over the age of 55.
Regarding the fine and the reaction to it by US government officials, 61% of people in the countries surveyed said that these officials oppose the European regulation (DSA) primarily to protect the financial interests of American technology companies such as Meta or X. However, this view is least prevalent among people in the Czech Republic (51%) and most prevalent in Finland (73%) and Germany (70%).
Social Media Consumption in the V4 Countries
Among other things, the survey examines how the populations of the countries in question consume social media and to what extent social networks are a sought-after source of information about current events. On average, 69% of people in the V4+5 countries surveyed use social media at least once a day for everyday activities. In the V4 countries, social media is consumed at least once a day most often by Hungarians (83%), followed by Poles and Slovaks (75% each), and least often by Czechs (71%).
When it comes to consuming news via information channels, an average of 54% of the population in the V4 countries use social media as their source of information. In Hungary and Poland, the highest proportion of people (61%) follow the news on social media at least once a day. In contrast, the lowest proportion is in the Czech Republic (44%) and Slovakia (52%). Fifty-four percent of people in the V4 countries watch television news at least once a day, compared to 58% overall (V4+5 countries). In the V4 countries, the difference between television, online websites, and social networks in terms of news consumption is thus balanced.
When an extraordinary event occurs, an average of 14% of people in the V4 countries turn to social networks as their first source of information. The highest percentage is in Hungary and Slovakia (17%), followed by Poland (16%) and the lowest in Czechia (10%). However, most people in the V4 countries turn to an internet search engine first in the event of an emergency (27%). In Czechia, the figure is 35%, in Slovakia 28%, in Hungary 26% and in Poland the lowest at 21%.
Basic parameters
Research name: CEDMO Tracking (V4+5)
Main data collection period: 4th wave, January 15, 2025 – February 5, 2025
Target group: representative population aged 15
Method of selecting respondents: demographics selection
Demographics settings: according to the Czech Statistical Office (ČSÚ)
Demographics monitored: gender, age, education, region, size of place of residence
Collection method: CAWI survey using an online panel
Total sample: 4th wave: n=12,887 (all countries): CZ n=1,524, SK n=1,540, EE n=1,384, FI n=1,371, FR n=1,514, DE n=1,497, HU n=1,400, PL n=1,404, SL n=1,253
*Data collection for the CEDMO Tracking survey was funded by the National Recovery Plan as part of the project MPO 60273/24/21300/21000 CEDMO 2.0 NPO.
