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An analysis conducted by cyber lawyer and EDF General Counsel Sarkis Darbinyan shows that content moderation on digital platforms is becoming a global issue. Numerous complaints from various governments indicate that the current level of content regulation no longer meets state requirements.
It is important to note that there is no comprehensive international agreement on content moderation today, making it difficult to find common solutions. Each country has its own understanding of what constitutes legal content, leading to the increasing "sovereignization" of the internet.
One of the recent high-profile cases is Brazil. The country's Supreme Court decided to block the social network X (formerly Twitter). This came after the platform closed its office in the country, refused to appoint an official representative, and failed to combat disinformation.
Judge Alexandre de Moraes, often referred to as Brazil's chief cyber judge, ordered Apple and Google to remove the X app from their stores. He didn't stop there, imposing fines of 50,000 reals for attempts to bypass the ban using VPNs.
The U.S. is also actively involved in similar processes. TikTok, whose fate in the U.S. is on the brink of a ban, has become a defendant in a case related to the death of a 10-year-old girl due to a dangerous challenge. The court ruled that algorithmic recommendation feeds may not be protected by law, causing serious concerns among other platforms using similar mechanisms.
Tanzania has also come into the spotlight. The country's authorities blocked access to X without a court decision, coinciding with an online activist campaign against the president. This blockade outraged the public and became part of a broader trend of internet content control in developing countries.
To the list compiled by Sarkis Darbinyan, we can add France, which remains one of the key countries actively trying to regulate social networks—the situation with the arrest of Pavel Durov being a prime example.
It is also worth mentioning South Korea's claims against Telegram, where an investigation was conducted into the spread of deepfakes. The platform eventually admitted its wrongdoing, apologized, and removed 25 explicit posts. The country's law enforcement agencies plan to create a hotline to quickly respond to such situations.
Recently, it was reported that Durov agreed to cooperate more closely with French authorities, also announcing changes to Telegram's operations, which will include stricter content moderation and sharing phone numbers and IP addresses of violators with government agencies.
Another alarming signal is that, according to an investigation by the GreatFire project, Apple is cooperating with Russian authorities in a non-transparent manner by removing VPN services from the App Store. The number of blocked services, according to GreatFire, exceeds official data, with some blocks being carried out without public notification.
More than 20% of VPN services were secretly blocked, causing inconvenience to their users.
“Transnational companies are increasingly being accused of considering themselves above the laws of countries,” says Darbinyan.
What is happening demonstrates a dangerous trend where states are tightening control over internet content, leading to further restrictions on freedom of speech and the right to access information.
This process is exacerbated by the lack of international standards. Sarkis Darbinyan concludes:
“The trend of 'sovereignization and compliance' continues, and transnational companies are forced to adapt to new demands.”
It is important to note that there is no comprehensive international agreement on content moderation today, making it difficult to find common solutions. Each country has its own understanding of what constitutes legal content, leading to the increasing "sovereignization" of the internet.
One of the recent high-profile cases is Brazil. The country's Supreme Court decided to block the social network X (formerly Twitter). This came after the platform closed its office in the country, refused to appoint an official representative, and failed to combat disinformation.
Judge Alexandre de Moraes, often referred to as Brazil's chief cyber judge, ordered Apple and Google to remove the X app from their stores. He didn't stop there, imposing fines of 50,000 reals for attempts to bypass the ban using VPNs.
The U.S. is also actively involved in similar processes. TikTok, whose fate in the U.S. is on the brink of a ban, has become a defendant in a case related to the death of a 10-year-old girl due to a dangerous challenge. The court ruled that algorithmic recommendation feeds may not be protected by law, causing serious concerns among other platforms using similar mechanisms.
Tanzania has also come into the spotlight. The country's authorities blocked access to X without a court decision, coinciding with an online activist campaign against the president. This blockade outraged the public and became part of a broader trend of internet content control in developing countries.
To the list compiled by Sarkis Darbinyan, we can add France, which remains one of the key countries actively trying to regulate social networks—the situation with the arrest of Pavel Durov being a prime example.
It is also worth mentioning South Korea's claims against Telegram, where an investigation was conducted into the spread of deepfakes. The platform eventually admitted its wrongdoing, apologized, and removed 25 explicit posts. The country's law enforcement agencies plan to create a hotline to quickly respond to such situations.
Recently, it was reported that Durov agreed to cooperate more closely with French authorities, also announcing changes to Telegram's operations, which will include stricter content moderation and sharing phone numbers and IP addresses of violators with government agencies.
Another alarming signal is that, according to an investigation by the GreatFire project, Apple is cooperating with Russian authorities in a non-transparent manner by removing VPN services from the App Store. The number of blocked services, according to GreatFire, exceeds official data, with some blocks being carried out without public notification.
More than 20% of VPN services were secretly blocked, causing inconvenience to their users.
“Transnational companies are increasingly being accused of considering themselves above the laws of countries,” says Darbinyan.
What is happening demonstrates a dangerous trend where states are tightening control over internet content, leading to further restrictions on freedom of speech and the right to access information.
This process is exacerbated by the lack of international standards. Sarkis Darbinyan concludes:
“The trend of 'sovereignization and compliance' continues, and transnational companies are forced to adapt to new demands.”
