I can't see any public body wanting the hassle of content moderation, much less trying to develop content moderation policies short of outright libel, defamation and fake news.

However if sites could be be self-moderating with comments and even diaries disappearing if down voted sufficiently a different view might be taken.

Back in the halcyon days of ET meetups I suggested looking for EU funding for a multi-lingual multi-thematic blogging platform aimed at helping to create an EU polity/demos and policy debate space. It could have had separate "rooms" for different languages and policy areas. Even areas for vlogging, videos, poetry, cinema, music and the visual arts.

I think the EU Commission would have bought the idea so long as they could disclaim all responsibility for content. It would have had to be run by an independent multi-national board. The problem was at our end  - we didn't have sufficient people with the business/marketing/editorial experience and time/energy to make it work. Too much undergraduate fissiparous argumentation, and not enough can do/make it work maturity.

But that possibility is now well past its sell by date, although the need is perhaps still there. Has any other site adequately filled that space? Could link ups with universities have rejuvenated our user base? We shall never know now.


Index of Frank's Diaries