Half of the EU's member states lack official content flagging groups that can be appointed under the EU’s online platforms rules in an attempt to combat illegal content, according to an overview made public by the European Commission.
Under the Digital Services Act (DSA), so-called "trusted flaggers" are intended to detect types of illegal content online – such as hate speech or terrorist content – which they will notify to the platforms and to national oversight authorities.
The DSA – which started applying to the largest online platforms in the EU in late 2023 – obliges online platforms to meet transparency and content moderation requirements, among others.
EU member states had to appoint a national watchdog by February 2024, which in turn will need to approve requests by fact checker organisations seeking to receive trusted flagger status.
Up to now, 13 of the 27 EU countries – Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Romania and Sweden – have these bodies in place.
One of the flaggers’ obligations is to submit an annual report.
Among key requirements for online platforms under the DSA is to have 'notice and action mechanisms' in place, allowing users to flag illegal content in a user-friendly manner to the platform. In this context, online platforms must prioritise the notices of illegal content reported to them by trusted flaggers.
The European Commission told Euronews that while there is no legal deadline for the organisations to be set up - as it is organisations that choose to apply to become trusted flaggers - the EU executive is preparing guidelines that should assist national authorities by streamlining the process of appointing organisations, as well as provide guidance on how online platforms should handle those bodies that misuse their status.
Those guidelines are expected to come out before the end of this year.
A spokesperson said that “the Commission is monitoring the situation and will consider support measures, such as awareness-raising, issuing guidelines, and encouraging support for trusted flaggers, as the mechanism continues to develop.”
The Commission has already launched a number of probes against platforms for non compliance with the DSA, including against X, TikTok and Aliexpress. None of the probes have been wrapped up to date.
