🎙️ “Trusted or Token?” — Demystifying Article 22 of the DSA
Dr. Nina Shengelia – Policy Leader Fellow, STG
Dr. Mark Leiser – Digi Data
Arianna Stech – Master’s student, STG
In this episode, we delve into one of the Digital Services Act’s most misunderstood innovations: the Trusted Flagger status. Article 22 is supposed to be a cornerstone of the EU’s approach to tackling illegal content online, but how effective is it really? Platforms have long run informal partnerships with fact-checkers and civil society groups—but institutionalising this under Article 21 and 22 is a new move. So why are organisations hesitant to apply?
We ask:
➡️ What’s behind the reluctance to become a Trusted Flagger?
➡️ What arguments can convince watchdogs, NGOs, and media accountability groups to step up?
➡️ Is this just old wine in new bottles—or a structural shift in how content moderation legitimacy is shared across sectors?
➡️ Do third-party fact-checkers belong in this regime, or is a new kind of expertise needed?
➡️ And with shifting US regulatory winds, is the EU about to be seen as a global frontrunner—or as stuck in a bureaucratic echo chamber?
Join us as we unpack the political stakes, the institutional logic, and the long-term prospects of a framework that could define how the next generation of platforms are governed.
🎧 Subscribe for sharp insights, critical takes, and policy decoding—without the Brussels fog.
#DigitalServicesAct #TrustedFlagger #PlatformGovernance #EUlaw #OnlineSafety #ContentModeration #DSA