Content & Jurisdiction Program

Toolkit

Cross-Border Content Moderation

Purpose

Towards maximizing freedom of expression while minimizing harm, a guide to determine applicable standards and due process guarantees for cross-border content moderation decisions.

The Toolkit informs service providers in the design of their content moderation activities, notifiers in detection and reporting, and legislators/policymakers in determining procedures for dealing with content and abusive behaviour online.

A collaborative effort of over 100 stakeholders

From governments, internet companies, technical operators, civil society, leading universities, and international organizations.

Raising awareness

About the scope and extent of cross-border content moderation decisions and applicable safeguards.

Clear common guidelines

Enabling interoperability across heterogeneous governance frameworks and coexistence between actors.

Download the full Toolkit

Download pdf

I&JPN Methodology

The Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network fosters a new approach to transnational policy-making. Its innovative methodology identifies relevant stakeholders to define common problems and produce solutions to pressing and complex policy challenges.

Since 2016 in regular iterations, the Content & Jurisdiction Program Contact Group engages key global policy actors. Contact Groups iteratively develop concrete outcomes pertaining to specific facets of cross-border content moderation and restriction challenges some of which are included in this Toolkit.

Meet the members

Framing common problems

Stakeholders develop a shared framing of the issue. This provides a common understanding of the policy problem and identifies areas for cooperation.

Download the I&JPN Content & Jurisdiction Framing Paper (2017)

Developing common approaches

Stakeholders develop Operational Norms, Criteria and Mechanisms to offer concrete avenues for cooperation.

Download the I&JPN Content & Jurisdiction Operational Approaches (2019)

Setting common objectives

Stakeholders identify structuring questions to develop a framework within which concrete policy solutions can be developed.

Download the I&JPN Content & Jurisdiction Policy Options (2018)

Fostering legal interoperability

Work is conducted to communicate and aid the implementation of policy solutions. This may take the form of Toolkits compiling thematic Outcomes.

Download the I&JPN Toolkit: Cross-Border Content Moderation (2021)

Overview

In the absence of clear common guidelines and due process, protecting human rights and freedom of expression when dealing with online content abuses is a major transnational challenge.

The Toolkit is based on the following set of common objectives agreed by stakeholders during the 3rd Global Conference of the Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network

Applicable substantive norms, including the interplay between agreed international and regional human rights, national laws, and companies’ community guidelines.

The respective obligations of states and the respective responsibilities and protections of other actors, including the identification of allegedly illegal content.

Decision-making, standards and procedures, including the escalation path for individual decisions and appeal mechanisms.

Legitimate purposes, necessity and proportionality regarding the geographic scope of restrictions.

The necessary due process and transparency standards that should be applied across borders.

This Toolkit has a twofold structure. The first section provides a framework for understanding and approaching the four different stages in the process of content moderation (Identification, Evaluation, Choice of Action, and Recourse). The second section contains practical tools that can help resolve some of the challenges of cross-border content moderation.

FRAMEWORK

Identification

Evaluation

Action

Recourse

Tools

Typology of content

Identification and notice sources

Criteria for geographic restriction or illegal content

User notification

Choice of action

Typology of detection modalities

Components of complaints / reports / notices from public authorities and private notifiers

Download the full Toolkit.

DOWNLOAD PDF

INTERNET & JURISDICTION POLICY NETWORK

"Managing the way that a large number of separate legal frameworks apply to the internet is one of the big policy challenges of our time. More complex than building the internet itself."

- Vint Cerf Co-inventor of the internet, writing in the Financial Times ahead of the Second Global Conference of the Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network in 2018
"The Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network delivers concrete, operational outcomes and this is exactly what has to be done if we want to tackle global challenges around the internet."

- Stefan Schnorr, Director General, Digital and Innovation Policy, Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, Germany
"We think [the Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network] serves as a strong example for how constructive multistakeholder engagement can lead to viable operational solutions to difficult internet policy problems."

- Brian Huseman Vice President of Public Policy, Amazon
"A gathering of the brightest minds in judiciary, technology and policy processes. The Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network is the place to be."

- Mary Uduma Chair, Nigeria Internet Governance Forum (NIGF)
"The Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network is a positive example of making sure that multistakeholder is really fully multistakeholder."

- Sharon Bradford Franklin, Policy Director, New America's Open Technology Institute

The Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network is the multistakeholder organization fostering legal interoperability in cyberspace. Its stakeholders work together to preserve the cross-border nature of the internet, protect human rights, fight abuses, and enable the global digital economy.

6 STAKEHOLDERS
GROUPS

400+ ENTITIES

70+ COUNTRIES