With the Digital Services Act, different entities have the opportunity to apply for the status of a trusted flagger. The purpose of trusted flaggers is to repel illegal content online. Online platforms must treat reports of illegal content from trusted flaggers with priority and without delay.
The status of trusted flaggers under this Regulation shall be awarded by the Digital Services Coordinator of the Member State of the applicant, which in Finland is the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom.
How to apply to be a trusted flagger
The status of trusted flagger can be obtained if the applicant proves that they meets all of the following conditions:
- it has particular expertise and competence for the purposes of detecting, identifying and notifying illegal content;
- it is independent from any online platform;
- it carries out its activities for the purposes of submitting notices in a timely, diligent and objective manner.
Contents of the application
The application is free-form and is delivered to the address datatalous@traficom.fi. The application must include the following information:
- The name of the applicant entity
- The address/place of residence of the entity and email address
- Contact details (contact person with contact information regarding the application)
- Number of staff
- For which geographical region/regions (=which EU Member country/countries) and for which language is the applicant applying for trusted flagger status
- For what kind of reporting of illegal content the status of a trusted flagger is sought.
Demonstrating the fulfilment of the criteria
The applicant can demonstrate that they fulfil the criteria laid down in the regulation for a trusted flagger by describing their activities and skills in their application, for example in the following ways:
The above are examples, and in addition to or instead of these, the applicant can also highlight other factors in their application that show that they fulfil the three conditions mentioned in the regulation. For example, copies of documents that verify the matters described in the application can be submitted as an attachment to the application.
Reporting obligations of the trusted flagger
At least once a year, the trusted flagger must publish a report of all the notifications it submitted in that time period. In the report, the number of notifications must be broken down at least with the following breakdown:
- the name of the hosting service provider;
- the type of reported allegedly illegal content;
- actions taken by the service provider.
The reports must also include an account of the procedures by which the trusted flagger ensures the preservation of its independence.
The trusted flagger must send the reports to Traficom (datatalous@traficom.fi) and make them publicly available. The reports must not include personal data.
Loss of trusted flagger status
Traficom can cancel the status of trusted flagger that it has granted, if the trusted flagger no longer meets the requirements of the Digital Services Act. You can also lose your status if you have submitted a significant number of inaccurate, incorrect or insufficiently justified notifications.