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Moderating borderline content while respecting fundamental values
Stuart Macdonald 
,
Katy Vaughan
,
Katy Vaughan
Policy and Internet
Swansea University Authors:
Stuart Macdonald , Katy Vaughan
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DOI (Published version): 10.1002/poi3.376
Abstract
As efforts to identify and remove online terrorist and violent extremist content have intensified, concern has also grown about so-called lawful but awful content. Various options have been touted for reducing the visibility of this borderline content, including removing it from search and recommend...
| Published in: | Policy and Internet |
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| ISSN: | 1944-2866 1944-2866 |
| Published: |
Wiley
2023
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| Online Access: |
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| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa64730 |
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| Abstract: |
As efforts to identify and remove online terrorist and violent extremist content have intensified, concern has also grown about so-called lawful but awful content. Various options have been touted for reducing the visibility of this borderline content, including removing it from search and recommendation algorithms, downranking it and redirecting those who search for it. This article contributes to this discussion by considering the moderation of such content, in terms of three sets of values. First, definitional clarity. This is necessary to provide users with fair warning of what content is liable to moderation and to place limits on the discretion of content moderators. Yet, at present, definitions of borderline content are vague and imprecise. Second, necessity and proportionality. While downranking and removal from search and recommender algorithms should be distinguished from deplatforming, tech companies’ efforts to deamplify borderline content give rise to many of the same concerns as content removal and account shutdowns. Third, transparency. While a number of platforms now publish their content moderation policies and transparency data reports, these largely focus on violative, not borderline content. Moreover, there remain questions around access to data for independent researchers and transparency at the level of the individual user. |
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| Keywords: |
algorithms, borderline, content, content moderation, freedom of expression, recommendation, terrorist and violent extremist content, transparency |
| College: |
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Funders: |
Swansea University |