A/HRC/44/49/Add.1 resolution 16/18, in which the Council launched an explicit plan of action which came to be known as the Istanbul Process for Combating Intolerance, Discrimination and Incitement to Hatred and/or Violence on the Basis of Religion or Belief, and to the Rabat Plan of Action which provides clear guidance to States seeking to limit incitement to violence. In particular, the Rabat Plan of Action recommends a six-part threshold test to determine whether the severity of incitement to hatred rises to the level of criminalization under article 20 of the Covenant. These factors include: (a) context; (b) speaker; (c) intent; (d) content and form; (e) extent of the speech act; and (f) likelihood, including imminence, of incitement leading to violence. If the Hate Speech and Disinformation Prevention and Suppression Proclamation were to comply with these standards, and its implementation were to be carefully planned with all relevant stakeholders at the regional level, it could very well achieve its intended objectives, while ensuring that individuals did not fear for their safety, nor self-censor. 36. As the Hate Speech and Disinformation Prevention and Suppression Proclamation had, at the time of writing the present report, just been adopted by Parliament, the Special Rapporteur believes that consultations could take place, including with regional law enforcement authorities, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, civil society organizations and other members of the public, and national and international experts, to ensure that the implementation of the law does not result in disproportionate restrictions to freedom of expression. He welcomes the fact that the Government ensures that law enforcement officials, especially at the State level, receive proper training on the criminalization of direct incitement to violence, while protecting freedom of expression. 37. With over 5 million users, Facebook has become a source of news for a growing population of Ethiopians and deserves the careful attention of many actors in the country. Facebook must deliver localized support to its burgeoning user base to ensure that its platform contributes to people’s expressions, rather than becoming a tool for the spread of hatred or disinformation. While company responsibilities may vary from the obligations of Governments, companies do have a clear responsibility to integrate human rights into their structures, including through transparent human rights impact assessment procedures, adequate oversight, and opportunities for individuals to obtain redress, in compliance with the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. 38. As the Hate Speech and Disinformation Prevention and Suppression Proclamation seeks to give intermediaries some role to police online content, the Special Rapporteur recalls that intermediary liability can be imposed only with due respect for international human rights law.13 Regulating content does not only require knowledge of local languages, which in the Ethiopian context is a difficult endeavour in itself, but also an in-depth understanding of the local context, including the country’s history and its social and cultural habits, which requires considerable resources. As a result, the Special Rapporteur urges Facebook and other information and communications technology companies to conduct periodic reviews of the human rights impact of their activities in Ethiopia, to establish more regular contacts with the Government, relevant independent authorities and civil society to prevent or mitigate adverse impacts that may arise, and to consider opening branches in Ethiopia to better understand the issues at stake and ensure regular communication with the general public. As a first step, social media companies should establish regular and rapid-reaction mechanisms to enable civil society to report the most concerning kinds of content on these platforms. C. Promoting independent journalism and access to information 39. Government repression sought to decimate the media sector in Ethiopia for years preceding the Government headed by Abiy Ahmed. Independent reporting through television and radio networks, newspapers, blogs and even Facebook posts was accompanied by threats of arrests and by actual detentions. The release of imprisoned journalists, the acknowledgement of systematic torture by law enforcement agencies and the promise to amend laws that authorized arbitrary and mass arrest all display the State’s 13 See A/HRC/38/35. 11