EFF and ARTICLE 19 Submit Joint Comments on EU Digital Services Act Trusted Flagger Guidelines

• EFF and ARTICLE 19 submitted joint comments to the European Commission regarding draft guidelines for the Digital Services Act (DSA) trusted flagger mechanism.
• The organizations emphasize that while the system aims to improve efficiency in identifying illegal content, it risks causing over-removal of lawful speech if not implemented with strong safeguards for due process.
• Platforms must retain responsibility for assessing legality, as the DSA does not provide a universal definition of "illegal content."

Key Recommendations

• Cross-border caution: Platforms should not assume a trusted flagger notice confirms illegality across all EU Member States due to differing national laws.
• Risk assessment: The systemic risk framework should account for platform design, such as recommender systems, rather than focusing solely on individual moderation actions.
• Law enforcement role: Authorities should generally not be granted trusted flagger status to prevent notices from being treated as de facto removal orders, which threatens the rule of law.
• Civil society independence: Guidelines must protect civil society organizations from retaliation and recognize their vital role in monitoring human rights, while ensuring existing partnerships with organizations lacking "trusted flagger" status are not sidelined.