a) The first Code of Conduct on countering illegal hate speech online was adopted on 31 May 2016 by the Commission and Google (YouTube), Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Microsofthosted consumer services, as relevant. Between 2018 and 2022, Instagram, Dailymotion, Snap Inc., Jeuxvideo.com, TikTok, LinkedIn, Rakuten Viber and Twitch subscribed to the commitments of the Code (hereafter all the companies subscribing to the Code will be referred to as the “the Signatories”).
b) Over these years, the Code facilitated key progress, including on the swift review and removal of illegal hate speech content and increased trust and cooperation between the platforms, civil society organisations and Member States authorities in the form of a structured process of mutual learning and exchange of knowledge.
c) Conscious of the significant opportunities and challenges represented by fast technological development and the evolutions in the policy and legal frameworks in the European Union, the Signatories continue sharing a collective responsibility and pride in promoting the respect of fundamental rights, as enshrined in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, in the online environment, as well as the Commission's and EU Member States' commitment to tackle illegal hate speech online.
d) The Signatories recognise the importance of transparency, monitoring and accountability on their systems and processes as regards the way they deal with alleged illegal hate speech content available on their services, and in particular in relation to their notice-and-action mechanisms. Also, as shown by the success of the collaborative approach under the Code of Conduct since 2016, the Signatories recognise the importance of a multi-stakeholder approach involving representatives of civil society organisations, experts as well as public authorities in the joint efforts to improve content moderation policies, with the aim to assess and mitigate the risk of the public dissemination of illegal hate speech through their services.
e) The Signatories note that the regulatory framework has advanced with Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 (Digital Services Act, hereafter referred to also as “DSA”) to increase transparency and accountability for intermediary services, informed also by the important achievements of the 2016 Code of Conduct. They recognise the need to further strengthen the Code, building on the DSA, in order to increase its efficiency in fighting illegal hate speech online.
f) This Code aims to become a voluntary code of conduct under Article 45 of the DSA. It is in this spirit that the Signatories have agreed on this Code of Conduct+ (hereafter referred to also as “the Code”), identifying voluntary commitments aimed at creating a framework that facilitates the compliance with and the effective enforcement of the DSA in the specific area of illegal hate speech content, including new measures to address the most recent challenges and threats.
g) This Code of Conduct is without prejudice to the obligations imposed on Signatories under the DSA, where applicable. The DSA will always take legal precedence for Signatories falling under its scope.
h) Where commitments overlap with legal obligations that apply to some or all Signatories under the DSA, this Code aims to gather specific and proportionate information on how obligations are implemented with respect to illegal hate speech, in particular through the transparency provisions in section 3 below.
i) Adherence to and compliance with commitments and measures agreed under voluntary codes of conduct by a very large online platform or a very large online search engine where relevant may be considered as appropriate risk mitigation measures under Article 35(1)(h) of the DSA.
j) To facilitate participation in the Code, Signatories subscribe to implement the relevant commitments through measures that are reasonable, proportionate, and effective in light of the identified risks, the size and nature of their subscribed services, the risk of illegal hate speech on their platforms, the resources available to them and other relevant factors.
k) The European Commission welcomes the efforts made by the Signatories and will support and monitor the implementation of the Code of Conduct + in the coming years.
The Signatories of the Code of Conduct+ have agreed on the following public commitments:
1.1 The Signatories are to have in place terms and conditions informing users that they prohibit illegal hate speech on their services. The Signatories are to include in such terms and conditions clear information on the policies around illegal hate speech on their services, and the measures taken in case of breach of these policies.
1.2 The Signatories will inform their users about significant changes made to their terms and conditions that are relevant to how they tackle illegal hate speech, in accordance with Article 14(2) of the DSA.
2.1 Pursuant to Articles 16 and 22(1) of the DSA, the Signatories will have in place notice and action mechanisms to allow any user in the EU, including Trusted Flaggers, to notify them of the presence on their service of specific content that the user considers to be illegal hate speech content.
2.2 After receiving a valid notice, the Signatories will review it in a timely, diligent, non-arbitrary and objective manner and act expeditiously to remove or to disable access to the reported content if it is in violation of the Signatories policies, and/or on the basis of the applicable law in accordance with the relevant jurisdiction and in accordance with Article 16 of the DSA.