Large Facebook fanpages and groups are currently not managed by countries according to a common model.
Most do not require that just achieving a certain number of followers requires a license. Instead, the law intervenes in the way the operator manages the page and the community, from collecting data, posting content to processing member comments.
Australia holds responsibility to fan page operator
Australia is the clearest case of the responsibility of page managers. In 2021, the Australian Supreme Court ruled that 3 media companies operating public Facebook Pages may be responsible for comments posted by users under posts.
The case originated from a lawsuit against Dylan Voller, who was previously detained in a juvenile detention system in Northern Territory. Voller argued that some user comments under Facebook Pages of media channels were defamatory.
These companies did not directly write comments. However, the court argued that they created and maintained public pages, posted content and allowed users to comment, thereby creating conditions for these comments to be transmitted to others. Therefore, they were identified as the party publishing the comments in the lawsuit.
France clearly stipulates the process of reporting violating content
In France, the focus is on the mechanism for reporting and handling illegal content. According to digital service regulations applied in this country, users can report to the platform about content they consider illegal. The platform must review, make a decision and notify the results; people affected by the handling decision have the right to complain.
France also has a "reliable informants" mechanism, meaning organizations recognized by the Audiovisual and Digital Communications Authority (Arcom) have expertise in detecting illegal content. Reports from these organizations must be prioritized for processing by the platform.
Thus, for large communities, the process is defined quite clearly:
(1) Detecting and reporting content;
(2) Foundation for consideration;
(3) Decision to keep or remove;
(4) The publisher has the right to complain.
Singapore allows regulators to request processing platforms
Singapore allows regulators to require social networking platforms to handle violating content. From July 2023, the Online Safety Code took effect, forcing major social networks, including Facebook, to reduce the risk of users being exposed to harmful content, provide reporting tools and implement user protection measures.
For particularly serious content, the Infocomm Singapore Media Development Authority (IMDA) has the right to request the platform to remove or block the content.
In June 2023, the IMDA requested Meta to handle a Facebook Page and a Facebook Group containing child sexual exploitation materials. Meta removed the content within 24 hours.
The cases show that countries do not necessarily manage large fanpages with their own licenses. Instead, they set responsibilities in stages: Australia can assign responsibility to the page operator for content posted by users; France builds a process for reporting, handling and complaints; Singapore allows management agencies to request platform intervention. The common point is that the more influential fanpages and groups are, the more attention the law pays to content control requirements.
