The EU Digital Services Act, which comes into force this week, is bringing major changes to the way internet giants operate in Europe.
The European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA) comes into effect this week – and it’s set to affect some of the world’s biggest tech and social media giants, including Google, Facebook and TikTok.
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It is a milestone in regulating the Internet giant and is designed to keep users safe online and prevent the spread of harmful content that is either illegal or violates the platform’s terms of service.
It also focuses on protecting the fundamental rights of Europeans such as privacy and freedom of speech.
The European Union has long been a global leader in cracking down on tech giants, and from Friday these giants will have to start complying with DSA rules. Failure to comply could result in fines of billions of euros.
Take a look at what’s happening this week.
Which platforms are affected?
So far, 19 platforms have been affected, including eight social media platforms: Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Snapchat.
Five online marketplaces have also been affected: Amazon, Booking.com, China’s Alibaba AliExpress, and Germany’s Zalando.
Mobile app stores Google Play and Apple’s App Store are subject to the new rules, as well as Google’s Search and Microsoft’s Bing search engine.
Google Maps and Wikipedia are off the list.
The EU list is based on how many users are on a platform. Those with 45 million (10 per cent of the EU’s population) or more will face the highest level of DSA regulation.
However, Brussels insiders have pointed out some notable omissions from the EU list, such as eBay, Airbnb, Netflix and Pornhub.
Any business providing digital services to Europeans will eventually have to comply with the DSA. However, they will face fewer obligations than most major platforms, and will have another six months before they fall in line.
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Citing uncertainty over new rules, Meta Platforms has held off on launching its Twitter rival, Threads, in the EU.
DSA: What changes are coming?
The platform has started rolling out new ways for European users to flag illegal online content and questionable products, which companies will be obliged to remove quickly and fairly.
Amazon has opened a new channel for reporting suspected illegal products and is providing more information about third-party merchants.
TikTok gave users “additional reporting options” for content they consider illegal, including advertising. Categories like hate speech and harassment, suicide and self-harm, misinformation or fraud and scams will help them pinpoint the problem.
Then, according to the app from Chinese parent company ByteDance, “a new dedicated team of moderators and legal experts” will determine whether flagged content either violates its policies or is illegal and should be removed.
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TikTok says the person who posted the content and flagged it will be told the reason for the removal and can appeal the decision.
TikTok users can turn off systems that recommend videos based on videos the user has previously watched. Such systems have been blamed for driving social media users towards increasingly extreme posts. If personalized recommendations are turned off, TikTok’s feed will recommend videos to European users based on what’s popular in their region and around the world.
The DSA prohibits advertisements targeting vulnerable categories of people, including children.
Snapchat said that advertisers will not be able to use personalization and customization tools for teens in the EU and UK. Meanwhile Snapchat users 18 and older will get more transparency and control over the ads they see, including “descriptions and insights” into why specific ads are shown to them.
TikTok made similar changes, preventing users 13 to 17 from receiving personalized ads “based on their activities on or off TikTok”.
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Are companies lobbying against the EU?
German online fashion retailer Zalando has filed a legal challenge over its inclusion in the DSA’s list of biggest online platforms, arguing it is being treated unfairly.
Nevertheless, Zalando is launching a content flagging system for its website, even though there’s little risk of illegal content appearing in its highly curated collection of clothing, bags, and shoes.
Aurelie Collier, Zalando’s head of public affairs for the European Union, said the company supported the DSA.
“It will bring a lot of positive changes for the consumers”, he added. But “in general, Zalando doesn’t have the systemic risk (that other platforms pose). So we don’t think we fit into that category”.
Amazon has filed a similar case in the EU’s top court.
Companies that don’t follow the rules could face fines of up to 6 percent of their global revenue – which could run into the billions. They could also be banned from the EU for failure to comply.
However, fines will not be imposed immediately for individual violations. Instead the DSA aims to give the EU information about companies’ algorithms to see if they have the right processes in place.
Associate Professor Sally Broughton Mikova said, “EU authorities are concerned about users’ behaviour, such as bullying and spreading illegal content, but they are also concerned about the way platforms work and how they contribute to negative impacts.” I’m worried too.” at the University of East Anglia.
This includes looking at how platforms work with digital advertising systems, which can be used to profile users for harmful content such as disinformation, or how their live streaming systems function, which can be used to filter terrorist content. What can be done to quickly diffuse it, said Broughton Mikova, who is also academic co-director at the Center on Regulation in Europe, a Brussels-based think tank.
Under the rules, the largest platforms must identify and assess potential systemic risks and whether they are doing enough to mitigate them. These risk assessments are due by the end of August and will then be independently audited.
