Warn before you suspend and count every strike

How to do it

Article 23 of the Digital Services Act covers users who often post manifestly illegal content. Online platforms suspend them for a reasonable period, after a warning. It also covers people who often send manifestly unfounded notices or complaints, whose reports you may stop processing. Decide case by case from the count, the share of the user's posts, the gravity and the intent. Article 23(4) asks your terms to describe this policy and the length of suspensions. Keep the ladder in code next to the policy table, so the terms show the same numbers. Severity 1 reasons skip the ladder and suspend at once. Every warning and suspension needs a statement of reasons, as Take notices about illegal content and answer each one requires.

Examples

JavaScript example

const STRIKE_LIFETIME_DAYS = 90;
const SUSPEND_AT_STRIKES = 3;
const SUSPENSION_DAYS = 7;
const DAY_MS = 86_400_000;

export function nextAction(strikes, now = Date.now()) {
  const live = strikes.filter(s => now - Date.parse(s.at) < STRIKE_LIFETIME_DAYS * DAY_MS);
  if (live.some(s => s.severity === 1)) return { action: 'suspend', days: null };
  if (live.length >= SUSPEND_AT_STRIKES) return { action: 'suspend', days: SUSPENSION_DAYS };
  return { action: live.length > 0 ? 'warn' : 'none' };
}

Python example

from datetime import datetime, timedelta, timezone

STRIKE_LIFETIME = timedelta(days=90)
SUSPEND_AT_STRIKES = 3
SUSPENSION_DAYS = 7

def next_action(strikes: list[dict], now: datetime | None = None) -> dict:
    now = now or datetime.now(timezone.utc)
    live = [s for s in strikes if now - s["at"] < STRIKE_LIFETIME]
    if any(s["severity"] == 1 for s in live):
        return {"action": "suspend", "days": None}
    if len(live) >= SUSPEND_AT_STRIKES:
        return {"action": "suspend", "days": SUSPENSION_DAYS}
    return {"action": "warn" if live else "none"}

How to check

A unit test gives a user one strike and gets a warning, then two more within 90 days and gets a 7-day suspension. A strike older than 90 days no longer counts. A reporter with 10 rejected reports in 30 days and no upheld ones gets a warning.

Sources

• Digital Services Act Article 23

Related rules

• TNS-2 Write the moderation policy as one table of reasons and actions in Trust and safety
• CMP-63 Take notices about illegal content and answer each one in Compliance and governance
• TNS-12 Give new accounts low limits until they earn trust in Trust and safety