ISLAMABAD: Meta’s Facebook, Elon Musk’s X, Google’s YouTube, and other tech companies have agreed to enhance their efforts to tackle online hate speech under an updated code of conduct that will now be integrated into EU tech regulations, the European Commission announced on Monday.
Other signatories to the voluntary code, initially established in May 2016, include Dailymotion, Instagram, Jeuxvideo.com, LinkedIn, Microsoft-hosted consumer services, Snapchat, Rakuten Viber, TikTok, and Twitch.
“In Europe, there is no place for illegal hate, whether offline or online. I welcome the stakeholders’ commitment to a strengthened Code of Conduct under the Digital Services Act (DSA),” EU Tech Commissioner Henna Virkkunen said in a statement.
The DSA mandates that tech companies take stronger measures to combat illegal and harmful content on their platforms. Compliance with the updated code could influence regulators’ enforcement of the Act, EU officials stated.
Under the revised code, companies have pledged to allow not-for-profit or public entities with expertise in illegal hate speech to monitor their review processes for hate speech reports. They will also assess at least two-thirds of these reports within 24 hours.
Additionally, the companies will implement measures such as automatic detection tools to curb hate speech on their platforms. They will also provide transparency regarding the role of recommendation systems and the organic and algorithmic reach of illegal content before its removal.
The tech firms have also committed to presenting country-level data, categorized by internal classifications of hate speech, including race, ethnicity, religion, gender identity, and sexual orientation.
