A tale of classified documents and online platforms: How to comply with new EU rules

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In April, Massachusetts Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira was arrested in the US by the FBI for allegedly leaking classified documents about the war in the Ukraine on Discord.

Since then, much has been written about the investigation as well as other cases of restricted information sharing on gaming forums relating to games such as War Thunder.

But what impact do such leaks have on the platforms on which this information is posted? What are their responsibilities and liabilities for the content that they host?

Historically in Europe, platforms have not been liable for any illegal content on their site provided they had no actual knowledge of such content and, if they became aware, moved quickly to take it down.

This has been the legal position since June 2000, a lifetime ago in digital development, when we were all playing games on Game Boy Colours and the original PlayStation.

Since then, technology has changed (to say the least) and the role of online interactions and user generated content in games, on gaming platforms, and on social media, has exploded. Online safety and, in particular, the role that platforms play in policing the internet has become a hot topic for governments and regulators across Europe.

In the UK, the debate on how to regulate in this space still rages, with the UK Online Safety Bill still crawling its way through the parliamentary approval process.

For the EU however, the answer is settled. And that answer is the Digital Services Act.

The Digital Services Act, published in October 2022, represents the next generation of the regulation of online services in the EU, with compliance required by 17 February