Recommended
Transparency
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Transparency is crucial to building understanding and trust in companies’ approaches to monetization.
Besides providing key stakeholders with the data and information they need to make informed decisions and enforce their rights (→ see Accountability), social media companies should make public disclosures about their monetization approach, systems and processes, as well as regularly report on the performance and progress of their monetization programs and governance approach.
PUBLIC DISCLOSURES
Social media companies should ensure that the following information is readily available via their transparency center:
- Approach to business due diligence - with a specific discussion of monetization partnerships
- Approach to monetization governance
- Monetization and Payment Terms and Policies - including a link to their payment processor and relevant terms
- Approach and systems used to detect violations and enforce monetization decisions
- Approach and systems used to process appeals, remedies, and compensations
PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
Social media companies should also regularly report against a set of key performance indicators, tracking the evolution of their monetization programs and monetization governance. Wherever possible, metrics should be disaggregated by program, country, region or language, as well as by violation and restriction type, and accompanied by a qualitative explanation of trends.
What is the scale and financial footprint of monetization programs?
- Amount ($) of ad revenue
- Number (#) of monetization partners
- Amount ($) redistributed through monetization programs
To what extent are platforms investing in monetization governance?
- Headcount (#) dedicated to monetization governance
- Amount ($) spent on monetization governance
To what extent are actors involved with confirmed illegal or violating content and activity?
Social media companies are already reporting on content moderation, intellectual property and local law violations, as well as security threats. Where possible, they should qualify these violations based on their monetization status and report on the following:
- Percentage (%) of confirmed content moderation violations linked to monetized accounts
- Percentage (%) of confirmed intellectual property violations linked to monetized accounts
- Percentage (%) of local law requests linked to monetized accounts
- Percentage (%) of disrupted adversarial networks linked to monetized accounts
- Amount ($) redistributed to actors involved with confirmed illegal or violating activity
- Amount ($) redistributed to adversarial threat networks identified
To what extent are demonetization decisions subject to overreach?
- Number (#) of monetization restrictions
- Percentage (%) of monetization restrictions processed via automation
- Number (#) and Percentage (%) of monetization restrictions appealed
- Number (#) and Percentage (%) of successful appeals of monetization restrictions
- Number (#) and Percentage (%) of errors proactively reinstated without appeals
- Percentage (%) of confirmed errors made through automation
- Turnaround time (median) on appeals
- Number (#) of demonetization requests coming from third parties, including governments and trusted flaggers
- Amount ($) paid out in compensations
IMPACT ASSESSMENT
Social media companies should disclose the actual and potential adverse impacts identified on illegal activity, society, the environment and the company’s own business. In doing so, they should look at the impact of both payments and financial incentives, and the impact of under and over enforcement of their terms and policies (→ see risk assessment recommendations).
Companies should further disclose an overview of the adjustments and risk mitigation measures put in place, along with an assessment of residual risks.
MONETIZATION PARTNER ARCHIVE
Social media companies should make available a repository of their monetization programs partnerships. The archive should provide an overview of participating accounts, details of their legal ownership, their program and period of membership, and amounts received in payouts.