Aktuell

Summary on the panel ‘Trusted Flagger‘03.11.2025

More than a year and a half after Article 22 of the DSA (Digital Services Act) came into full effect in all EU Member States, this panel provided an opportunity to take a look at the effectiveness of this novel approach.

We continue our summaries of the LIDC Congress 2025 with the panel ‘Online Platforms and Trusted Flaggers’ as an additional concept of private trusted informants appointed by authorities for combating illegal content on online platforms.
The panel was chaired by Hannes Seidelberger, who heads an entity that was named Trusted Flagger in May 2024 as the first in Austria and the second in the EU. As he emphasized in his introduction, the idea of private informants reporting illegal content is not new at all, but now for the first time such trusted flaggers are approved by official authorities and have a clear legal framework.
Bence Kertész then explained the concept of Trusted Flaggers from the EU's perspective under the Digital Services Act (DSA), beginning by illustrating the types of online platforms to which the regulations apply. Informative graphics accompanied his presentation, which focused in particular on the need for a uniform interpretation of the provisions, the issue of insufficient funding for the activities of Trusted Flaggers and other challenges in implementing the concept. Currently, there are around 50 recognised Trusted Flaggers in the EU.
Susanne Lackner addressed the role of the national coordinators for digital services regulated in the DSA. She outlined the criteria for a Trusted Flagger and the appointment procedure. In principle, any organisation based in Austria with expertise in certain types of illegal content can apply for this status. In addition to its expertise and competence, the entitiy must be independent of online platforms. Currently, six organisations in Austria are so far certified as Trusted Flagger.
Karl Gladt informed participants that in some countries, the concept of Trusted Flaggers had been discussed in the context of the DSA, as there were concerns that this could lead to a restriction of freedom of expression. However, it was clarified that this concept is merely a professionalisation of the reporting system by including organisations with relevant experience and the Trusted Flaggers would rather help to ensure that everyone can express their opinion in the digital space without being exposed to illegal insults or threats. Furthermore, according to a DSA database, the number of reports submitted by Trusted Flaggers to online platforms is rather low.
As the Temu app is one of the most frequently downloaded applications in online retail, the remarks made by Leonard Klenner, Senior Compliance Manager for Europe at this platform, also met with great interest. He referred to Temu's open access to this innovative reporting system and emphasized that the priority processing of reports from Austrian Trusted Flaggers in particular had led to appropriate solutions.
In the ensuing discussion, it was ultimately concluded that although the reports submitted by trusted flaggers had not been numerous to date, their quality was very high and the concept had proven effective on several occasions.

#LIDCVienna

zurück

Summary on the panel ‘Trusted Flagger‘03.11.2025

Österreichische Vereinigung