On Thursday 12 October, the European Commission announced its intention to present an “enhanced” version of the Code of Conduct on countering illegal hate speech online.
“As digital challenges evolve, the strengthened Code will help to deal with them in flexible ways, and in dialogue between tech companies, civil society and the Commission”, said Commission Vice-President for Transparency Věra Jourová.
Code of Conduct+
Called ‘Code of Conduct+’, it will take account of the European Digital Services Act (DSA...), as well as the pitfalls of the current code, which has been in place since 2016. Although the Commission considers it to be an “efficient and successful instrument”, its latest assessment revealed a fall in the number of reports examined by signatory companies within 24 hours (see EUROPE 13070/35).
The “enhanced” Code, says the institution, will therefore aim to become a tool that is not only reactive and focused on the removal of problematic content, but also encourages platforms “to enhance prevention and anticipate threats”.
Towards an agreement
The Commission discussed the features of the future code with the signatories, national authorities and civil society organisations at a high-level meeting co-organised by the Spanish Presidency of the EU Council and held from 10 to 11 October.
The Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, proposed in particular the establishment of “exchange fora and a knowledge hub” that would enable platforms “to receive timely information on possible trends and developments in hate speech or threats to freedom of expression”.
At the same time, and arguing in favour of a “DSA Code of Conduct”, he wants platforms to be able to report in a “more structured” way on the measures they are taking to moderate hate speech, “including through automatic detection tools”.
“I am confident that the negotiations will be concluded soon”, he said. (Original version in French by Hélène Seynaeve)