Well before the implementation of the Digital Services Regulation (DSA), a voluntary code of conduct had been in place in the European Union in 2016 to combat hate speech online. This code was signed by Dailymotion, Jeuxvideo.com, Microsoft and LinkedIn, Snapchat, Rakuten, TikTok, Twitch, as well as Facebook and Instagram, as well as Twitter and YouTube.
The gap is widening between the United States and Europe
A new revised version, called Code of Conduct+, will be integrated into the DSA. It will strengthen the way online platforms deal with content that EU and Member State laws define as illegal hate speech. The improved code thus facilitates compliance and effective enforcement of the DSA.
The large platforms designated under the regulation are invited to adhere to this new Code of Conduct+ to “demonstrate their compliance with the obligation imposed by the DSA to reduce the risks of dissemination of illegal content on their services”. Each year, these platforms are subject to an independent audit to verify the reality of their actions in the fight against hate speech.
In concrete terms, companies that adhere to the code of conduct must authorize a network of entities (non-profit or public) to regularly monitor how they manage reports of hate speech. The signatories also undertake to review at least two thirds of the reports received from these entities within 24 hours. Among other commitments, participants must also comply with transparency obligations on measures taken to reduce hate speech.
Under the Code of Conduct+, participatory platforms are “encouraged” to take into account additional recommendations, providing information on the role of recommendation systems and the organic and algorithmic reach of illegal content before its removal. They can also present data by country, broken down by internal classification of hate speech (such as ethnicity, religion, gender identity or sexual orientation).
“In Europe, there is no place for illegal hate, whether offline or online,” swears Henna Virkkunen, Commissioner for Technology Sovereignty. “Cooperation between all parties involved is the way forward to ensure a safe digital space for all.”
This strengthened Code of Conduct comes at an interesting time, to say the least. To get in Donald Trump's good books, Mark Zuckerberg has thrown Facebook and Instagram's moderation policies in the trash, favoring a system of "community ratings" inspired by Twitter.
He also plans to ask the American president for help in "oppose foreign governments that target American companies to further censor." A clash with the European Union is certain! And yet, Meta has accepted the code of conduct+, just like Elon Musk's social network.
Read Meta moderation: Paris "worried", Brussels refutes Mark Zuckerberg's accusations of censorship
Meta has also confirmed again that fact-checkers will continue to do their work "for the time being" outside the United States. “We’ll see how things evolve over the years,” Nicola Mendelsohn, head of Meta’s global business, told Bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-01-20/meta-will-keep-its-fact-checkers-outside-of-the-us-for-now?embedded-checkout=true. “Nothing changes in the rest of the world at the moment, we continue to work with these fact-checkers around the world.”
We’ll also see how YouTube’s moderation policy, a signatory to the Code of Conduct+, evolves. Google announced last week that YouTube was abandoning its fact-checking commitments in Europe.
Source: European Commission
0 Comments