RightsCon Toronto 2018

The increased posting and sharing of graphic material and human rights abuses on open source platforms, including perpetrator footage, provides criminal investigators and prosecutors with a wealth of potential evidence. However, the disgust that this material generates in online communities, and the pressure exercised by governments on social media platforms to delete extremist content and curb “fake news” (mis-, dis- and malinformation) has put tremendous pressure on social media companies to take down this content—threatening the potential for this footage to support the pursuit of justice. 

This session will convene law enforcement authorities and NGOs working to bring cases based on photos and videos posted online, and representatives from the social media platforms where this footage is oftentimes posted (Youtube, Twitter and Facebook). The preservation of digital material for future prosecutions is an emerging area of concern, which challenges should be addressed in parallel to the ongoing conversation on content moderation taking place in different policy fora. The session, however, will not deal with online community guidelines, and will focus instead on the specific questions that the archiving and other preservation of this material raises. For example, how do the current channels to submit requests for information to US social media companies impede or delay investigations? Can the ICC obtain this information given the challenges the American Service-Members’ Protection Act may pose to coordination with US companies? What are the rights of the accused or person under investigation? How do the different scenarios differ in terms of policy-making: company takedown vs. content deleted by user?

The roundtable will be held under Chatham House rule to facilitate an honest conversation. The first 30 minutes will be dedicated to address the different perspectives on the issue, and to outline the ideal scenario for each stakeholder group. The next 30 min will be devoted to collating the challenges each stakeholder faces. The final 15 minutes will be for fleshing out specific action items with the idea of moving towards detailed guidelines or a working framework for the preservation of digital material.