Santa Clarita Principles could help tech firms with self-regulation

California conference agrees a guide to help tech companies moderate online content

Social networks should publish the number of posts they remove, provide detailed information for users whose content is deleted about why, and offer the chance to appeal against enforcement efforts, according to a groundbreaking effort to provide a set of principles for large-scale moderation of online content.

The Santa Clarita Principles, agreed at a conference in the Californian town this week, were proposed by a group of academics and non-profit organisations including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, ACLU, and the Center for Democracy and Technology.