No. 021-01-1269/2024-02  Date: August 1, 2024.

MEDIA PLATFORM

BB, Editor-in-Chief

Dear Mr. BB,

We have received an electronic message from a citizen who states that he experiences daily problems due to his Montenegrin origin and the politics of Montenegro. Attached to the message, he submitted a news article from a media platform titled “Montenegrin Government Adopted Amendments to the Resolution on Srebrenica” under which there is a comment: “I would deport all THESE Montenegrins in Serbia to Srebrenica.” His message was not structured in a way that would allow proceedings based on a complaint to be conducted by the Commissioner.

However, we remind you of the recommendation of measures for achieving equality no. 021-01-00327/2018-02. which the Commissioner addressed to the portals in the Republic of Serbia on September 27, 2018.

On that occasion, the Commissioner recommended that the portals take all necessary measures to prevent the publication of content and user comments on the internet portal and profiles on social networks, as well as the removal of comments already published, which by their nature may incite hatred or violence against individuals or groups based on their personal characteristics or create fear or a hostile, degrading and offensive environment.

In this regard, the Commissioner reminds that the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia^[1]  prohibits any discrimination, direct or indirect, on any grounds, especially on the basis of race, sex, national affiliation, social origin, birth, religion, political or other belief, property status, culture, language, age, mental or physical disability.

The constitutional prohibition of discrimination is further elaborated by the Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination[2], which defines discrimination as any unjustified differentiation or unequal treatment, or omission (exclusion, restriction, or giving preference), in relation to individuals or groups, as well as members of their families or persons close to them, in an open or covert manner, based on race, skin color, ancestors, citizenship, national affiliation or ethnic origin, language, religious or political beliefs, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, sex characteristics, income level, property status, birth, genetic characteristics, health status, disability, marital and family status, criminal record, age, appearance, and membership in political, trade union and other organizations and other actual or assumed personal characteristics. Article 11 of the Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination stipulates that the expression of ideas, information and opinions that incite discrimination, hatred or violence against individuals or groups based on their personal characteristics is prohibited in public media and other publications, at gatherings and places accessible to the public, by writing and displaying messages or symbols, and in other ways, while Article 12 stipulates that harassment and degrading treatment aimed at or representing a violation of the dignity of individuals or groups based on their personal characteristics is prohibited, especially if it creates fear or a hostile, degrading and offensive environment.

The Law on Public Information and Media[3], in Article 86, prohibits hate speech. Ideas, opinions, or information published in the media must not incite discrimination, hatred or violence against individuals or groups based on their belonging or not belonging to a certain race, religion, nation, sex, their sexual orientation, gender identity or other personal characteristics, regardless of whether a criminal offense was committed by the publication.

When publishing any content, care should be taken that such content does not incite discrimination, hatred or violence against individuals or groups based on a personal characteristic. In this regard, the Commissioner for Protection of Equality points out that content review can be carried out in several ways, especially the review of content created by users themselves, such as comments, which upon publication become an integral part of the content published on the internet portal. In the Guidelines for the Application of the Code of Journalists of Serbia in the online environment, it is recommended that online media and online editions, regardless of the type of moderation they use, create rules for publishing user-generated content, clearly stating what types of content (behavior) are not allowed on their communication channels and explaining how the moderation system works. Depending on technical capabilities, internet portals can develop a system to notify users about why certain user content was not published (pre-moderation), or why certain user content was removed (post-moderation). The Guidelines state that user content that an online medium decides to publish falls under the editorial responsibility of the media. In addition, the Guidelines emphasize that in the case of using post-moderation, the removal of controversial content is carried out after discovering that the content is not allowed, i.e. after notification by a third party, and if such content is not removed, it will be considered to fall under the editorial responsibility of the media.^[4]

Article 33, paragraph 1, item 9 of the Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination stipulates that the Commissioner monitors the implementation of laws relating to the prohibition of discrimination and sends recommendations of measures to public authorities and other persons for achieving equality and protection against discrimination^[5].

In this regard, the Commissioner for Protection of Equality sends you a recommendation to remove as soon as possible the comments that have already been published and that by their nature may incite hatred or violence against individuals or groups based on their personal characteristics or create fear or a hostile, degrading and offensive environment, as well as to improve the moderation system on the media platform portal in the future so that comments representing hate speech are not made available to the public.

[1] “Official Gazette of the RS”, no. 98/06

[2] “Official Gazette of the RS”, nos. 22/09 and 52/21

[3] “Official Gazette of the RS”, no. 92/23

[4] Guidelines for the Application of the Code of Journalists of Serbia in the online environment, Press Council, 2016. Belgrade, content available at www.savetzastampu.rs/doc/smernice-za-primenu-kodeksa-novinara-srbije-u-onlajn-okruzenju.pdf

[5] Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination (“Official Gazette of the RS”, nos. 22/09 and 52/21), Article 33. para 1. item 9)

COMMISSIONER FOR THE PROTECTION OF EQUALITY
Brankica Janković