Guidelines to help fight the spread of online hate content

These guidelines are issued in application of article 42 of the law of August 24, 2021 reinforcing respect for the principles of the Republic. They aim to shed light on the implementation by platforms of the obligations introduced by this same article in order to effectively fight agains the diffusion of hateful content. In accordance with the decree of January 14, 2022, the platforms concerned are those exceeding a threshold of 10 million monthly single visiters for the basic obligations, and 15 million monthly single visiters for the obligations specifically applicable to very large platforms.

With this text, the legislator wished to anticipate the entry into force of the European regulation on digital services (" Digital Services Act " or DSA), which was being drafted at the time of its adoption. The scheme is closely modelled on the regulation's provisions, and includes a sunset clause set for December 31, 2023. The DSA, adopted on October 19, 2022, will be applicable during 2023 for the obligations specific to very large online platforms and search engines, and in February 2024 for the other platforms concerned.

In view of the transitional nature of French legislation and the forthcoming entry into force of the DSA, Arcom has drawn up these guidelines. They aim to support operators and all stakeholders in their contribution to fighting the diffusion of hateful content online, while preparing them for the imminent implementation of the DSA. They are also drawing on the provisions of the European regulation, to encourage platforms to anticipate its implementation.

In addition, Arcom will be carrying out a progress report within 6 months of the publication of this text, in order to take stock of the efforts made by platforms operating in France to fight online hate, and to contribute to the analysis of the concrete challenges involved in implementing certain provisions of the DSA. To this end, it will survey platforms in the first quarter of 2023, relying in particular on the indicators set out in the DSA and inviting operators to share any methodological problems they may encounter in preparing to implement the text.

Arcom is convinced that if the DSA is to be a success, its monitoring needs to be firmly anchored in the Member States, thanks to cooperation within the network of competent French authorities on the one hand, and the European network of regulators on the other, while respecting the competences of the European Commission and the Member States in which each platform is established. To this end, the DSA makes provision for feedback and information-sharing procedures between competent regulators. To this end, national regulators must retain the means they need to assess the specific risks associated with platform activity on their territory, in the light of the specific context and uses that are peculiar to it.

In addition, Arcom will convene the Online Hate Observatory on December 6, 2022 to launch a cycle of consultation between its members (civil society, online platforms, researchers, government departments) on a number of challenges linked to the DSA's effective from in France, such as the role of trusted flaggers.