"it is unfair, and it would be unwise to expect the user to know the law!"-Evaluating reporting mechanisms under the Digital Services Act
M.T. Sekwenz (TU Delft - Organisation & Governance)
Ben Wagner (Interdisciplinary Transformation University Austria, TU Delft - Organisation & Governance, Hogeschool Inholland)
S.E. Parkin (TU Delft - Organisation & Governance)
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Abstract
Platforms have a problem with harmful or illegal content online. Flagging, which is an empowering tool for users to report violating content. A new European Union law, the Digital Services Act (DSA), seeks to harmonize the regulation of the flagging process. This paper examines how these flagging mechanisms support user action through semi-structured interviews (N=12) with regulatory authorities and professional reporting experts, using a walkthrough approach (with case studies based on flagging systems on Facebook and TikTok). We found tensions between the empowerment of users with additional reporting options and how it burdens users within service interfaces and processes; users need to understand the law, participate in a legal process, and differentiate between legal options and terms of service. Design choices, like the length of necessary reporting steps, also impacted expectations on the transparency of the reporting process. We close with design insights on support for users and stakeholders in the reporting process.
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