France: Adopted guidelines for online platforms on combating the dissemination of hateful content online

On 28 November 2022, the Authority for Audiovisual and Digital Communication (Arcom) published a guideline aimed at helping online platforms combat the dissemination of hateful content online. The guideline is issued in conformity with Reinforcing Respect for the Principles of the Republic Act that implements sections of the European Union Digital Services Act. The guideline outlines the content moderation requirements for platforms that have at least 10 million active monthly users and very large platforms with at least 15 million unique monthly users. In its guideline, the Arcom notes that platforms have to set up internal mechanisms to remove content following requests from French authorities. Additionally, platforms should establish a flagging mechanism for users to report illegal content. Furthermore, the platforms will have to enable users to appeal content moderation decisions.