# EFF and ARTICLE 19 Submission to the European Commission on the DSA Trusted Flagger Guidelines

- Type: News
- Source: Electronic Frontier Foundation
- Date: 2026-07-16
- Original: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/07/eff-and-article-19-submission-european-commission-dsa-trusted-flagger-guidelines
- Canonical: https://overview.legal/posts/122886
- Topics: Monitoring, Implementation Guidelines, Illegal Content Definition and Classification, Out-of-Court Dispute Settlement Procedures and Requirements, Supervision, Intermediary Liability Framework under DSA

## Summary

EFF and ARTICLE 19 have submitted joint comments to the European Commission on draft guidelines for the Digital Services Act’s trusted flagger mechanism. Having long advocated for a DSA that protects freedom of expression while preserving intermediary liability protections and the prohibition on general monitoring, we welcome the Commission's effort to provide practical guidance on how the trusted flagger system should operate. The DSA’s trusted flagger system can help platforms identify illegal

## Full text

EFF and ARTICLE 19 have submitted joint comments to the European Commission on draft guidelines for the Digital Services Act’s trusted flagger mechanism. Having long advocated for a DSA that protects freedom of expression while preserving intermediary liability protections and the prohibition on general monitoring, we welcome the Commission's effort to provide practical guidance on how the trusted flagger system should operate. The DSA’s trusted flagger system can help platforms identify illegal content more efficiently. But if implemented poorly, it could also encourage over-removal of lawful speech, weaken due process, and give government authorities disproportionate influence over online expression. We support the Commission's focus on good practices and illustrative examples, rather than legal interpretations that could inadvertently steer platforms toward particular enforcement outcomes—and argue that the guidelines should include stronger safeguards to protect freedom of expressi

## Cited law provisions (1)

### GDPR — gdpr-art-19-en

The controller shall communicate any rectification or erasure of personal data or restriction of processing carried out in accordance with Article 16, Article 17(1) and Article 18 to each recipient to whom the personal data have been disclosed, unless this proves impossible or involves disproportionate effort. The controller shall inform the data subject about those recipients if the data subject requests it.

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