OTI, RDR, and Coalition Release Updated Santa Clara Principles on Transparency and Accountability in Content Moderation

Today, New America’s Open Technology Institute, Ranking Digital Rights, and a coalition of civil society organizations and academics are releasing the second edition of the Santa Clara Principles on Transparency and Accountability in Content Moderation. The revised Principles outline standards related to transparency, due process, cultural competence, and respect for human rights that internet platforms should meet in order to provide meaningful, public-facing transparency around their moderation of all user-generated content, paid or unpaid.

In May 2018, a small coalition of advocates and individuals released the original Santa Clara Principles in response to growing concerns about the lack of transparency and accountability from internet platforms around how they create and enforce their content moderation policies. This first version of the Principles outlined minimum standards that internet platforms must meet to provide adequate transparency and accountability about their efforts to moderate user-generated content or accounts that violate their rules.

Since the release of the initial Principles, many internet platforms have endorsed and committed to adhering to the Principles, including Apple, Facebook, Google, and Twitter. However, the original Principles were created by a small number of organizations and individuals based primarily in the United States. Following the 2018 launch, many allies—particularly our colleagues from countries outside the United States and Western Europe—raised legitimate concerns and suggestions for their revision. In particular, stakeholders from around the world emphasized that platforms currently invest more resources in providing transparency and due process to users in certain communities and markets, which creates fundamental inequities. Further, over the past several years, platforms have expanded their content moderation tactics to include interventions implemented by algorithmic tools, such as downranking. These companies have not provided sufficient transparency around how these tools are developed and used, and what impact they have on user speech and access to information.

Because of these concerns, the Santa Clara Principles coalition initiated an open call for comments from a broad range of global stakeholders, with the goal of eventually expanding the Principles. Using the feedback received through this open call, as well as through a series of open consultations and workshops, the coalition drafted the second iteration of the Santa Clara Principles.

The new Principles include four key revisions:

• The revised version of the Principles is divided into Foundational Principles, which are overarching values that should be considered and guide all content moderation, and the Operational Principles, the Numbers, Notice, and Appeal principles from the original iteration, which set out specific practices for companies.
• While the original Principles were “minimum standards,” the revised principles are now simply “standards,” that provide guidance and benchmarks for companies of all sizes, resources, maturity, and scope.
• The revised Principles include principles directed at governments and other state actors which themselves are often obstacles to meaningful transparency and due process.
• The revised operational Principles have been expanded.

The following statement can be attributed to Spandi Singh, Policy Analyst at New America’s Open Technology Institute:

“Over the past few years, several internet platforms have provided more transparency around their moderation of user-generated content. But more needs to be done, particularly when it comes to providing transparency around platform use of automated tools, safeguarding human rights, and issues that disproportionately impact individuals who belong to marginalized and vulnerable groups, speak different languages, or live in certain regions. We hope that the revised Santa Clara Principles will push platforms to meet these expectations and provide them with guidance on pursuing meaningful reforms to get there.“

The following statement can be attributed to Jessica Dheere, Director of Ranking Digital Rights:

“The launch of the revised Santa Clara Principles marks an important step in holding tech companies accountable to their users worldwide. The addition of guidelines to increase transparency around targeted advertising creates a baseline for transparency for surveillance-based business models that fuel their bottom line. Ranking Digital Rights is proud to have contributed to the Principles, which build on our standards for corporate transparency to promote and uphold our fundamental rights to free expression, privacy, and non-discrimination.”