The Promises—and Pitfalls—of Content Regulation in the Digital Age

David Kaye, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression, issued a call for comments on content regulation in the digital age. The call aimed to collect information from states, companies, and civil society organizations on content regulation processes, including relevant legislative measures, internal and external policies, and the challenges and successes of these procedures.  New America’s Open Technology Institute (OTI) responded to this call for comments in December by highlighting the different content regulation practices employed by technology companies, as well as the challenges associated with them. OTI’s comments to the United Nations Special Rapporteur emphasized the need for companies to promote increased transparency around their content regulation practices, especially since the majority of content moderation practices engage with content that is not clearly defined, either in legal terms or in companies’ own terms of service.