A/67/326 mechanisms. It is also crucial to strengthen and institutionalize dialogue and collaboration among the various actors involved in addressing the issues of racism and incitement to racial hatred and violence on the Internet. 45. The Special Rapporteur is of the view that national, regional and international efforts, including legislative and policy initiatives, are of major political significance and may facilitate identification of common strategies and solutions. In particular, he reiterates the opinion of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on the mandatory character of State obligations to enact appropriate legislation in line with the provisions of article 4 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. In that regard, he welcomes efforts by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination to provide further clarification regarding the obligations of parties to the Convention, particularly in respect of the exploitation of the Internet to propagate racial, ethnic and xenophobic hatred and incitement to violence. The Special Rapporteur is also persuaded by and supports the opinions of the Committee, and those of his predecessors, that legal measures taken to combat the propagation of racial, ethnic and xenophobic hatred and incitement to violence through the Internet are compatible with international human rights norms on the freedom of expression and opinion. The Special Rapporteur notes and appreciates that there are genuine differences in the views of States on the need for and the possible political dangers presented by legislative measures to restrict certain forms of speech. However, the Council of Europe has demonstrated the possibilities of a collective legal approach to combating racial, ethnic and xenophobic hatred and incitement through the Internet. There are other important efforts in other regions. The Special Rapporteur also notes that a number of States have enacted legislation to combat racism on the Internet. B. Role of the private sector, including intermediaries 46. The multi-stakeholder approach to addressing the problem of propagation of racial, ethnic and xenophobic hatred and incitement to violence on the Internet has been stressed in the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action and at various meetings convened under the auspices of the United Nations. In particular, such business enterprises as Internet service providers and content developers have certain responsibilities through self-regulation and co-regulation with State agencies. Certain measures by Internet service providers, such as establishing clear and comprehensive terms of service as a basis for taking appropriate action against websites that disseminate racist ideas, hate messages and incitement to racial hatred and violence on the Internet, have been cited as some of the ways in which the private sector can contribute to combating racism and the incitement of hatred on the Internet. Business entities can also promote the use of industry codes of conduct, ethical guidelines and principles as tools for addressing online racist content; develop and implement accessible and transparent online complaint mechanisms; and enhance mechanisms available to end-users to flag inappropriate content placed on Internet sites. 47. The Special Rapporteur is, however, aware that the Internet industry faces technical challenges owing to the huge amount of data and content uploaded by users and that it may not be technically feasible to monitor, filter or address the inappropriate or illegal content. Moreover, there are genuine risks that such 12-46982 17