European Union: Introduced content moderation regulation in General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR)

On 30 June 2021, the European Commission introduced the General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR). If adopted, the GPSR would establish a wide-ranging legal framework for ensuring the safety of non-food consumer products – items designed for consumer use or those reasonably expected to be used by consumers. Its specific focus is to address safety challenges stemming from novel technologies and the landscape of online selling. Among its provisions, the GPSR includes content moderation regulations. It is suggested that Member States empower their market surveillance authorities with the necessary jurisdiction to demand that providers of online marketplaces remove or highlight specific content relating to hazardous product offerings. These orders would necessitate providers to eliminate identical content associated with the perilous product, with searches limited to identified information. Utilising reliable automated tools, providers would ensure a proportionate response.