Teen social media ban passed, Bluesky beefs up mod team and detecting algospeak
Hello and welcome to Everything in Moderation's Week in Review, your need-to-know news and analysis about platform policy, content moderation and internet regulation. It's written by me, Ben Whitelaw and supported by members like you.
Happy Thanksgiving to EiM subscribers from or connected to the United States and happy Digital Services Act Risk Assessment week to, well, everyone. I’ll be spending this weekend delving into through this handily compiled list of platform summaries while making a pumpkin pie (please send your favourite recipes).
Ctrl-Alt-Speech is taking a week off as a result but Mike and I will be back in your podcast feeds this time next week. And don't forget to catch up with last week's episode with David Sullivan of the Digital Trust and Safety Partnership.
If you've been considering supporting the newsletter by becoming a member, now is the time. I'm offering 20% off your first year and the warm glow of being a supporter of independent media.
Hard sell over; read on for this week's internet speech news from China, Australia, Brazil and elsewhere — BW
Policies
New and emerging internet policy and online speech regulation
We trailed it in Ctrl-Alt-Speech last week (and the week before) and it has finally happened: Australia has rushed through its law prohibiting children under 16 from using major social media platforms. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese insisted that "we want Australian children to have a childhood” but I’m more likely to believe the teenager interviewed by the BBC who said she “will still use it, just secretly”.
Platforms could face fines up to $32 million for non-compliance although the law won't go into force for 12 months. And there's also the small point that human rights experts think it could be unconstitutional.
Brazil's Supreme Court this week began a review of four cases that are set to determine social media platforms' responsibility to remove removing illegal content. Three of the cases relate to the Marco Civil da Internet (the Internet Civil Rights Framework) which is similar to Section 230 in that it exempts platforms from liability about what is shared by third parties. News portal Globo ran an editorial suggesting the review could “establish understandings on what to do when faced with publications that violate fundamental rights.”
Tense times: The review comes just weeks after a man linked to Brazil’s Liberal Party — that of former President Jair Bolsonaro — used explosives to kill one person at the Supreme Court in Brasilia. Bolsonaro was also this week implicated in a military coup and gave an interview to the WSJ that he wants to return to power. So there's a lot at stake here. The trial will resume next Wednesday.
Bluesky’s rapid growth (EiM #271) has not gone unnoticed in the EU; the Commission has reached out to the 27 member states to see if the platform has registered an EU-based office, according to reports. Under Article 13 of the the Digital Services Act, intermediaries must offer “a legal or natural person to act as their legal representative in one of the Member States”.