CYBER Self-regulation and ‘hate speech’ on social media platforms - ARTICLE 19

Self-regulation and ‘hate speech’ on social media platforms - ARTICLE 19: "A number of recent legislative initiatives on ‘hate speech’, including most prominently the 2017 German NetzDG law on social media, make reference to some form of self-regulation in relation to social media. Voluntary mechanisms between digital companies and various public bodies addressing ‘hate speech’ and other issues, such as the EU Code of Conduct on hate speech, also make reference to self-regulatory models. However, ARTICLE 19’s analysis shows that these fail to comply with international human rights law. They rely on vague and overbroad terms to identify unlawful content, they delegate censorship responsibilities to social media companies with no real consideration of the lawfulness of content, and they fail to provide due process guarantees.

ARTICLE 19 therefore proposes exploring a new model of effective self-regulation for social media. This model could include a dedicated “social media council” – inspired by the effective self-regulation models created to promote journalistic ethics and high standards in print media. We believe that effective self-regulation could offer an appropriate framework  to address current problems with content moderation by social media companies, including ‘hate speech’, providing it also meets certain conditions of independence, openness to civil society participation, accountability and effectiveness. Such a model could also allow for the adoption of tailored remedies, without the threat of heavy legal sanctions.

 ARTICLE 19 is aware that the realisation of this model may raise certain practical challenges and problems. " 'via Blog this'