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 N° 18 - Juin 2022 - Propriété et gouvernance du numérique
Applying Net neutrality rules to social media content moderation systems
By Winston MAXWELL
Director of Law and Digital Technology Studies, Télécom Paris - Institut Polytechnique de Paris, Laboratoire i3 (UMR 9217)
I argue that the Net neutrality concept of “reasonable traffic management” can be applied to social media content moderation systems. Unlike recommendation systems which select, organize, and prioritize content, moderation systems should be neutral. Platforms should apply content moderation rules in an objective and non-discriminatory manner. The article explains the difference between content moderation and content recommendation (also called curation). The article then explores different forms of discrimination in content moderation. I propose two rules inspired by “reasonable traffic management” that should be transposed to content moderation: (i) discrimination in content moderation enforcement should not be motivated by commercial considerations, and (ii) discrimination should be based on objective criteria related to the nature of the content, the ease of detection and the relevant harms flowing from over-removal or under-removal. Finally, I argue that the proposed DSA should include the explicit requirements on the neutrality of content moderation, modeled on the language that appears on the European Regulation on the Dissemination of Terrorist Content Online.
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 N° 18 - June 2022 - Ownership and governance in the digital world
Applying Net neutrality rules to social media content moderation systems
Winston MAXWELL.
I argue that the Net neutrality concept of “reasonable traffic management” can be applied to social media content moderation systems. Unlike recommendation systems which select, organize, and prioritize content, moderation systems should be neutral. Platforms should apply content moderation rules in an objective and non-discriminatory manner. The article explains the difference between content moderation and content recommendation (also called curation). The article then explores different forms of discrimination in content moderation. I propose two rules inspired by “reasonable traffic management” that should be transposed to content moderation: (i) discrimination in content moderation enforcement should not be motivated by commercial considerations, and (ii) discrimination should be based on objective criteria related to the nature of the content, the ease of detection and the relevant harms flowing from over-removal or under-removal. Finally, I argue that the proposed DSA should include the explicit requirements on the neutrality of content moderation, modeled on the language that appears on the European Regulation on the Dissemination of Terrorist Content Online.
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