Co-Producing Security: Platform Content Moderation and European Security Integration.

Area of Science:

• Social Sciences
• Law and Technology

Background:

• The European Union (EU) is actively developing policies and legislation to govern online content moderation.
• Key initiatives include the EU Internet Referral Unit and the Regulation on preventing the online dissemination of terrorist content (TERREG).

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the legal and technological mechanisms of EU regulation on online terrorist content.
• To understand how these mechanisms co-produce security decisions across public and private spheres.
• To examine the practical effects of EU-directed content moderation.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative research approach.
• Data collection through interviews, fieldwork observations, and document analysis.

Main Results:

• Referral and removal processes are central to EU-directed terrorist content moderation.
• Flagging and filtering mechanisms are integral to the regulation of online content.
• Legal and technological tools jointly shape security outcomes in the digital space.

Conclusions:

• Content moderation is emerging as a new form of European security integration.
• The EU's approach intertwines public policy with private sector content moderation practices.
• The study highlights the complex interplay between regulation, technology, and security in the EU's digital policy.