Legal:Terrorist and violent extremist content procedures and guidelines
Terrorist and Violent Extremist Content Notice of Action
Introduction
The Terrorist and Violent Extremist Content Notice of Action Update (TVEC Update) refers to the guidelines and procedures prescribed for addressing Terrorist and Violent Extremist Content (Terrorist Content) on Wikimedia projects. These actions shall be performed by the Wikimedia Foundation’s (Foundation) staff members in response to receiving a notice/legal order/judgment (Legal Order) from relevant law enforcement authorities in the United States of America (USA), European Union (EU), or a member nation of the EU (collectively referred to as LEA). All Terrorist Content actions are performed in accordance with the Terms of Use and pursuant to the applicable law.
Purpose and Scope
The TVEC Update aims to protect the Wikimedia communities and movement from illegal efforts to abuse the projects, cause harm, recruit others to cause harm, and/or otherwise organize to promote terrorist activities in violation of the law.
Filing a Terrorist Content Notice
The relevant LEA shall file a request for Terrorist Content notice of action before the designated Terrorist Content sub-group (Terrorist Content Sub-Group) within the Foundation’s Trust & Safety team. For the request to be considered, the LEA shall file the request as follows:
- Share the official copy of the Legal Order (in PDF format) via its official e-mail ID to TVECNOTICE@WIKIMEDIA.ORG;
- List the following details in the e-mail:
- Jurisdiction of the LEA;
- Contact details of the officer sharing the Legal Order for further communication with the Foundation;
- A succinct summary of the reasons for the Terrorist Content Notice;
- Specific details of the Terrorist Content on the relevant project’s URL to be removed per the Legal Order;
- Legal provisions under which the content has been determined as Terrorist Content by the LEA; and
- Any other information deemed crucial in support of the request, including any other pertinent documentation.
What if the content I uploaded was removed under this update?
As part of the internal review process, the Foundation’s Legal team reviews all removals to confirm that they comply with the relevant applicable law. If your content continues to stay removed after the legal review, it is likely that the Foundation was legally obligated to do so. If you have questions about such removal or believe that there is new information that the Foundation should consider, contact legal@wikimedia.org. However, the Foundation may be limited by applicable law in disclosing the information about these requests.
Who handles Terrorist Content Notices within the Wikimedia Foundation?
If WMF receives a Legal Order that qualifies as Terrorist Content under the applicable law, WMF will remove the content upon satisfactory legal review. Once the content is removed, Foundation’s staff will register the takedown in the edit summary as a response to the Legal Order. Unless otherwise required by the Legal Order, the Foundation shall take necessary steps to inform the contributor about the takedown.
Timeline for Terrorist Content Notice of Action
Each Terrorist Content Notice will be analyzed on a case-by-case basis. Whenever possible, the Foundation strives to review the Terrorist Content Notices within one business day. In emergency cases where the Legal Order requires expedited removal, the Foundation shall review and take the necessary action as soon as possible.