The EU Parliament and Council reached an agreement this weekend to effectively tackle the spread of illegal content online and protect the fundamental rights of people in the digital sphere. The Digital Services Act (DSA) together with the Digital Markets Lawwill set the standards for a safer and more open digital space for users and a level playing field for businesses in the years to come.
“The Digital Services Law will establish new global standards. Citizens will have better control over how online platforms and big tech companies use their data. We’ve finally made sure that what’s illegal offline is also illegal online. For the European Parliament, the additional obligations on algorithmic transparency and disinformation are important achievements”, said the rapporteur Christel Schaldemosse (DK, S&D). “These new rules also ensure more choice for users and new obligations for platforms in targeted ads, including bans on targeting minors and restriction of data collection for profiling.”.
Under the new rules, intermediary services, online platforms, such as social networks and marketplaces, must take measures to protect their users from illegal content, goods and services:
- Algorithmic Responsibility: the European Commission, as well as the member states, will have access to the algorithms of very large online platforms;
- Quick removal of illegal online content, including products and services: a clearer ‘notice and action’ procedure where users will be empowered to report illegal content online and online platforms will have to act quickly;
- Fundamental rights that must also be protected online – Stricter safeguards to ensure that notifications are processed in a timely manner non-arbitrary and non-discriminatory and with respect for fundamental rights, including freedom of expression and data protection;
- More responsible online marketplaces : They must ensure that consumers can buy safe products or services online, strengthening controls to demonstrate that the information provided by merchants is reliable (“Know your business customer” principle) and make efforts to prevent illegal content from appearing in their platforms, including through random checks;
- Victims of cyber violence will be better protected, especially against non-consensual sharing (revenge porn) with immediate removals;
- sanctions : Online platforms and search engines can be fined up to 6% of their worldwide turnover. For very large online platforms (with more than 45 million users), the EU Commission will have the sole power to enforce compliance;
- Fewer charges and more adaptation time for SMEs : A longer period to apply the new rules will support innovation in the digital economy. The Commission will closely monitor the possible economic effects of the new obligations on small businesses.
Safer online space for users:
- The new transparency obligations for platforms they will allow users to be better informed about how content is recommended to them (recommendation systems) and to choose at least one option not based on profiles;
- Online advertising: users will have better control over how their personal data is used. Targeted advertising is prohibited when it involves sensitive data (eg, based on sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity);
- protection of minors : platforms accessible to minors must take specific measures to protect them, including a total ban on targeted advertising;
- Manipulating user choices through “dark patrons” will be prohibited: online platforms and marketplaces should not push people to use their services, for example by giving more importance to a particular option or by urging the recipient to change their choice through interfering pop-ups. Plus, unsubscribing from a service should be as easy as subscribing;
- Compensation : The recipients of the digital services will have the right to seek redress for any damage or loss suffered due to the infractions of the platforms.
The next steps will be to finalize the text at a technical level and to verify it by lawyer-linguists, before both the Parliament and the Council give their formal approval. Once this process is complete, it will enter into force 20 days after its publication in the Official Journal of the EU and the rules will begin to apply 15 months later.
From May 23 to 27, a delegation from the European Parliament’s Internal Market Committee will visit various company headquarters (Meta, Google, Apple and others) in Silicon Valley to discuss in person the Digital Services Act package. In the middle corporateeurope share some details of the conversations that have already started with these companies.