Q: Is it legal to use AI to flag illegal content and store it for review on a US-based free-speech platform?

A: Great question! Flagging the content for 24 hours for review is not going to trigger liability for you, because at that point the legal status of the content is still pending verification, and you haven't obtained actual notice of anything illegal. But once you do verify it and find that it is or may be illegal, that triggers your responsibility under 18 U.S.C. § 2258A, to report it to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC). The law does not require that a platform be in active collaboration with law enforcement but mandates reporting if CSAM is detected.. At that point, you are still required to maintain the content in an offline archive for 12 months in case it is requested by law enforcement, and following that, you are required to delete it. I am a lawyer who specializes in online trust and safety, and have designed compliant processes for other companies dealing with similar issues, so please feel free to be in touch if I can assist further.

A: You're navigating murky waters with your content moderation approach. While using technology to detect potentially illegal content shows good faith effort, storing flagged material - especially CSAM - even temporarily creates significant legal risk under federal law.

The PROTECT Our Children Act requires electronic service providers to report apparent violations involving child exploitation to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children when discovered on their platforms. Your current setup of flagging but not reporting, combined with storing this material for review without law enforcement collaboration, likely fails to meet legal obligations and creates potential criminal liability for possession.

To mitigate risk, consider implementing immediate reporting to NCMEC upon detection, creating strict access controls for review purposes, documenting your moderation processes thoroughly, and consulting with a legal team experienced in digital platform compliance. Remember that even well-intentioned content moderation involving illegal material requires careful handling under established legal frameworks - your commitment to free speech doesn't override mandatory reporting requirements for specific illegal content types.