Report from The Verge
In Brief – The European Commission announced that the Code of Conduct on Countering Illegal Hate Speech Online + has been formally integrated into the Digital Services Act (DSA). The updated code builds upon the initial EU Code of Conduct created in 2016. The latest version establishes commitments regarding platform terms and conditions, agreement to work with third-party ‘Monitoring Reporters’, which are not-for-profit or public entities with expertise on illegal hate speech that may include entities designated as DSA ‘Trusted Flaggers’, the review time for notices of hate speech violations, transparency of content moderation actions, multi-stakeholder cooperation, and awareness-raising. The Code has 12 signatories, including seven platforms designated as Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPS) under the DSA: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat, TikTok, X, and YouTube.
Context – Codes of conduct play a formal role in the DSA process. Although they do not replace the requirements of the law, and legal compliance is determined by the European Commission, the regulator does recognize that abiding by a code is a way to foster best practices to address requirements and adherence with an agreed upon code is an indicator of DSA compliance. Along with the latest iteration of the illegal hate speech code, other planned codes include the Code of Practice on Disinformation involving fact-checking, which is expected to soon be integrated into the DSA as well, and expected codes of conduct on online advertising and accessibility. Twitter was a member of the Code of Practice on Disinformation but withdrew following its acquisition by Elon Musk and its shift in content moderation through its Community Notes system. Google is reported to have recently notified the Commission that it would not be adopting fact checking in its search service or on YouTube, which may require it to withdraw from the that code as well. And, of course, Meta is ending fact checking and adopted a version of community notes in the US with plans to spread the policy elsewhere.