EU Digital Services Act takes effect, tighter laws for social media
3 Min Read
An initial list of 19 targets termed Very Large Online Platforms and Search Engines, such as X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and others, will begin to see changes to policies as a result of the new rules.
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The Instagram logo on a phone in October 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts, US (AP)
The European Union's Digital Services Act (DSA) will finally take effect on Friday, targeting and thus impacting the operation of massive online platforms and search engines in EU member states.
An initial list of 19 targets termed Very Large Online Platforms and Search Engines, such as X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and others, will begin to see changes to policies as a result of the new rules.
The new regulations entail stricter content moderation, tighter protection for minors, and transparent ad policies that will become a legal requirement to abide by.
Platforms with over 45 million users in the EU will be required to submit detailed reports to the Commission of their major risks for users. If they fail to do so, they can be penalized with up to 6 percent of their global revenue.
One of the proclaimed objectives of the DSA is to fight disinformation. It also establishes new guidelines that all significant digital platforms must follow in order to combat police hate speech, misinformation, and counterfeit content online.
Read more: TikTok CEO reassures EU on privacy, child safety rules
In April last year, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: "It gives practical effect to the principle that what is illegal offline, should be illegal online. The greater the size, the greater the responsibilities of online platforms."
Although the legislation only applies to EU people, the impact will undoubtedly be felt in other parts of the world as well. Global technology businesses may conclude that it is more cost-effective to establish a unified content-policing policy and use the EU's toughest restrictions as a model.
While lawmakers in the United States are eager to reign in Big Tech with legislation, they have already begun to look to the EU's rules for guidance.
The US-based retail giant Amazon challenged the DSA, being the first US firm to do so, saying that it "was designed to address systemic risks posed by very large companies with advertising as their primary revenue and that distribute speech and information. Amazon doesn’t fit this description of a 'very large online platform' under the DSA and therefore should not be designated as such."
🗣️ "Si à partir du 25/08, Twitter ne lutte pas contre la désinformation, il ne sera plus le bienvenu."
— franceinfo (@franceinfo) May 30, 2023
Le ministre délégué chargé du Numérique @jnbarrot menace Twitter de sanctions si les règles de lutte contre la désinformation ne sont pas respectées.
📺 #franceinfo canal 27 pic.twitter.com/qMCaCHLxJX
It added that its retail business generates the majority of its revenue and that if it were included on the European Commission's list of targeted businesses, it would be "unfairly singled out and forced to meet onerous administrative obligations that do not benefit EU consumers".
