"There is literally zero funding": Understanding the Emerging Role of Trusted Flaggers under the EU Digital Services Act

TL;DR

This study explores the experiences of Trusted Flaggers under the EU Digital Services Act, highlighting challenges in accreditation, resource allocation, and platform relationships, with recommendations for future research and standardization.

Contribution

It provides empirical insights from interviews and workshops with Trusted Flaggers, revealing practical challenges and proposing future research directions under the DSA.

Findings

Accreditation as a Trusted Flagger can be cumbersome.

Resources for Trusted Flaggers remain limited despite increased workload.

Platforms' priorities often diverge from those of Trusted Flaggers.

Abstract

The European Union's Digital Services Act (DSA) introduced regulatory mechanisms which serve as a way to manage harmful content online. The recognition of Trusted Flaggers (TFs) is one such mechanism which accredits entities with experience, platform independence, and skill in identifying and reporting illegal content. With the DSA's TF role being roughly one year old, we interviewed representatives of seven such TF organizations to learn about their experiences of becoming a TF and how it impacts their interactions with online platforms and with individual users. We additionally ran a workshop involving TF representatives, primarily as it was requested by TFs themselves, who collectively wanted to share experiences of their new role and learn from each other rather than be isolated. Notably, we found that accreditation as a TF can be cumbersome, that resources for TFs remain the same despite an increasing workload, and that platforms priorities often diverge from TFs. We conclude with recommendations for future research into understanding user representation within the DSA and the need for standardization measures tailored to the needs and resource constraints of TFs.