The European Commission unveiled, on Thursday 24 November, the “worrying” results of the seventh evaluation of the Code of Conduct countering illegal hate speech online.
In particular, it notes a fall in the number of reports examined by companies within 24 hours, from 90.4% in 2020 and 81% in 2021 to only 64.4% in 2022. Only the TikTok platform has improved its performance in this area.
The removal rate of reported content was 63.6%. A performance similar to 2021 (62.5%), but lower than 2020 (71%). Only Youtube has improved its removal rate from 58.8% in 2021 to 90.4% in 2022. On average, content calling for murder or violence against specific groups is more often removed (69.6%) than defamatory content (59.3%), showing, according to the Commission, a better response rate on the most serious manifestations of online hatred.
Despite the disappointing results overall, the Commission noted an improvement in the frequency (66.4% in 2022 compared to 60.3% in 2021) and quality of information provided by social networks to users, something it had called for in its 2021 report.
Finally, the institution renewed its support for platforms and reporting organisations in the implementation of an agreed framework for action under the Code of Conduct. It also recalled that the Digital Services Act (DSA), which came into force on 16 November 2022, provides for rules on corporate responsibility and could lead to a revision of the Code of Conduct in 2023.
To read the evaluation: https://aeur.eu/f/49e (Original version in French by Hélène Seynaeve)