On Jan 20, the European Commission announced that "Meta's Facebook, Elon Musk's X, Google's YouTube, and other tech companies" have agreed to amp up efforts in combating online hate speech. This revised code of conduct will now be integrated into EU tech regulations.
Besides the aforementioned companies, other initial participants from the voluntary code in May 2016 include Dailymotion, Instagram, Jeuxvideo.com, LinkedIn, Microsoft hosted consumer services, Snapchat, Rakuten Viber, TikTok, and Twitch.
EU tech commissioner Henna Virkkunen stated, "In Europe, there is no place for illegal hate, either offline or online." She welcomed the stakeholders' commitment to a stricter Code of Conduct under the Digital Services Act (DSA).
The DSA mandates tech firms to intensify efforts in combating illicit and harmful content on their platforms. Compliance with the updated code could affect how regulators enforce the Act, according to EU officials.
Within the updated code, the companies have committed to involving not-for-profit or public entities experienced in addressing illegal hate speech to oversee their handling of hate speech reports. They promise to review at least two thirds of such reports within 24 hours.
Moreover, the companies will implement actions like using automatic detection tools to diminish hate speech on their platforms. They have agreed to provide information about the function of recommendation systems and the reach of illegal content before taking it down.
They will share data at the country level categorized by the internal classification of hate speech, such as race, ethnicity, religion, gender identity, or sexual orientation.