The radiotelevision and digital services authority on Thursday announced that it is accepting applications from entities and organisations which wish to act as “trusted flaggers” of illegal online content.

“Trusted flaggers” are an element of the European Union’s digital services act, which was first rolled out in 2022, with the European Commission explaining that “trusted flaggers are responsible for detecting potentially illegal content and alert online platforms”.

It added that trusted flaggers must be “experts at detecting certain types of illegal content online, such as hate speech or terrorist content”, and that their role upon identifying such content is to report it to the online platform.

“Notices submitted by them must be treated with priority as they are expected to be more accurate than notices submitted by online platforms of content they consider to be illegal. Providers have the sole responsibility to decide upon notices and, where justified, [remove] content,” it said.

It also explained that national authorities must take into account three main criteria when awarding entities with trusted flagger status, the first of which is “expertise and competence” in “detecting, identifying, and notifying illegal content online”.

The second criterion is “independence”, with the commission saying that “trusted flaggers must operate independently from any online platform providers to ensure that their assessments are unbiased”.

The final criterion is “diligence, accuracy, and objectivity”. To this, the commission added that trusted flaggers must follow “established standards and procedures”.

Additionally, it stated that trusted flaggers must publish annual reports on their findings, which must be “easily understandable and detailed”.

“These must include information on notices submitted, the types of illegal content reported, and the actions taken by the online platforms,” it said.

Those who wish to apply for trusted flagger status in Cyprus are encouraged to complete an application form which can be found on the radiotelevision and digital services authority’s website, and then email it to [email protected].