Dr. Pierre François Docquir:

I thank the Senator very much for the question. We see the social media council as something that should exist at the national level because we want local voices to have a say with regard to the oversight of content moderation cases. The European Union is a union and it is something I personally find fantastic, to be honest. There are many difference from one country to the other in terms of languages and culture. Having a detailed understanding of the context for any case of regulating speech is absolutely key to reaching the appropriate decision.

In our view and in our proposal, we see the social media council as existing at the national level. It may be compared, for instance, with the existence of press councils, which also exist at the national level in respect of the national press industry. At the EU level, in a future situation whereby social media councils would exist in a number of European countries, it would make sense and be necessary for these councils to co-ordinate with one another. As well as this, they would have some sort of European association, where they could deal with a number of common concerns and make sure that they work together in a consistent manner. The social media council could also find ways to co-operate with Facebook’s oversight board to provide local anchorage that the Facebook oversight board, being a global body, does not have.