12.07.2024

ANCOM, as the Digital Services Coordinator, may grant, upon request, the status of trusted flagger to any entity proving that it has specific experience and expertise in detecting, identifying and notifying illegal content, and that it is independent of any online platform providers and conducts its activities in such a way as to submit notifications with diligence, accuracy and objectivity. Decision no. 336/2024 on the procedure for granting the status of trust flagger entered into force on the date of publication in the Romanian Official Journal no. 662, on 11 July 2024.

What are trusted flaggers?

Trusted flaggers can be entities established in Romania with expertise in detecting certain types of illegal content online (such as hate speech or terrorist content) - defined as such by national law - and in notifying them to online platforms. Notifications sent by them should be treated as a priority, as they are expected to be more accurate than notifications sent by a service recipient (user).

Decision on the procedure for granting the trusted flagger status

According to the ANCOM Decision, entities wishing to become trusted flaggers can fill in a standard form, which they will submit together with all the documents and evidence of the fact that they meet the required conditions. The standard form provides for various items of information such as: form of organisation, name, identification data, field of competence, language(s) in which they have competences, human and technical resources, method and sources of funding, organisational structure and decision-making process, detailed description of how the activity is carried out and self-declarations regarding the fulfilment of the eligibility conditions and the veracity of the information contained in the application or in the attached documents.

Having analysed the submitted documentation, ANCOM will communicate to the applicant the decision on granting this status.

Examples of entities that can apply for the trusted flagger status

• NGOs, such as: consumer protection organisations, child protection organisations, human rights organisations, environmental organisations, animal rights organisations;
• members of well-known fact-checking networks, such as the International FactChecking Network (IFCN);
• public entities such as online content reporting units of national law enforcement authorities or the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) or regulatory authorities (except the DSC);
• private or public-private bodies, e.g. organisations that are part of the INHOPE network of hotlines for reporting child sexual abuse material and organisations that are committed to reporting illegal racist and xenophobic speech online;
• networks or alliances of entities at national or European level.

Types of illegal content that can be identified by trusted flaggers

Illegal content means any information that breaches one of the laws in force in Romania or another EU member state.

The types of illegal content that can be detected, identified and notified by trusted flaggers in various areas of competence fall under categories such as:

• Data protection and privacy violations;
• Illegal speech;
• Infringement of intellectual property and other commercial rights;
• Acting in respect of personal information or images, without consent;
• Online bullying or harassment;
• Pornography or sexual content;
• Actions concerning minors;
• Actions concerning animals;
• Illegal and/or unsafe products, etc.

All about digital services

ANCOM supports users - in their capacity as recipients of intermediary services - with complete information, posted in its website section dedicated to digital services. Moreover, the ANCOM website details – for the industry - the duties of the Digital Services Coordinator, the obligations of intermediary service providers, the rights of service recipients and the rules established by the Digital Services Regulation.