Digital Services Act

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Regulation COM/2020/825 final
European Union regulation
Text with EEA relevance
Title"Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on a Single Market For Digital Services (Digital Services Act) and amending Directive 2000/31/EC"
Made byEuropean Commission
Journal referenceCOM/2020/825 final
Preparative texts
Commission proposal15 December 2020
Proposed

The Digital Services Act (DSA) is a legislative proposal by the European Commission to modernise the e-Commerce Directive regarding illegal content, transparent advertising, and disinformation.[1][2]

It was submitted along with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) by the European Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on 15 December 2020.[3][4] The DSA was prepared by the Executive Vice President of the European Commission for A Europe Fit for the Digital Age Margrethe Vestager and by the European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton, as members of the Von der Leyen Commission.[5]

Objective of the DSA[]

Ursula von der Leyen proposed a "new Digital Services Act", in her 2019 bid for the European Commission's presidency.[6] The expressed purpose of the DSA is to update the European Union's legal framework, in particular by modernising the e-Commerce Directive adopted in 2000.[1] In practice, this will mean new legislation regarding illegal content, transparent advertising and disinformation.[2] In June 2020, the European Commission launched a public consultation on the package to gather evidence; this remained open until September 8, 2020.[7][8] Groups within civil society have been calling on EU authorities to ensure that the DSA introduces clear definitions of harmful content in order to address concerns of online harassment, including doxing and gender-based harassment faced by users on social media.[9]

New obligations on platform companies[]

The DSA is meant to improve content moderation on social media platforms to address concerns about illegal content.[10] The DSA proposal maintains the current rule according to which companies that host other’s data are not liable for the content unless they actually know it is illegal, but adds the exception that once illegal content is flagged, companies are required to remove it.[10] The DSA would introduce new obligations on platforms to disclose to regulators how their algorithms work, on how decisions to remove content are taken and on the way advertisers target users. Many of its provisions only apply to platforms which have more than 45 million users in the European Union. Platforms including Facebook, Google’s subsidiary YouTube, Twitter and TikTok would meet that threshold and be subjected to the new obligations.[11] Companies that do not comply with the new obligations risk fines of up to 6% on their annual turnover.[12]

Next steps[]

The DSA is currently a legislative proposal. In order to become law it requires the approval by the European Council and the European Parliament, which is expected to take around a year and a half from the time the DSA was proposed by the European Commission in December 2020.[13] In January 2021, the Parliament Internal Market Committee confirmed that the S&D group will lead the DSA in Parliament.[14]

Reactions[]

It is expected that DSA and DMA will influence parts of how services are provided for Europeans. Facebook has supported it because it will prevent privacy initiatives put forward by Apple.[15] However, the advocacy group European Digital Rights, while approving of the intentions behind the acts and some of their effects, fears that the DSA's strong illegal content removal requirements will create a chilling effect by incentivising companies to remove all content flagged as illegal whether or not it actually is illegal, and claims that by not requiring interoperability between websites the DMA does not go far enough in limiting the power of big tech platforms.[10]

The DSA was mostly welcomed by the European media sector.[16] Due to the influence gatekeepers have in selecting and controlling the visibility of certain journalistic articles over others through their online platforms, the European Federation of Journalists encouraged EU legislators to further increase the transparency of platforms' recommendation systems via the DSA.[17]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Stolton, Samuel (2020-08-18). "Digital agenda: Autumn/Winter Policy Briefing". www.euractiv.com. Retrieved 2020-09-02.
  2. ^ a b Espinoza, Javier (28 October 2020). "Internal Google document reveals campaign against EU lawmakers". Financial Times.
  3. ^ "The Digital Services Act package". Directorate-General CONNECT of the European Commission. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  4. ^ Espinoza, Javier; Hindley, Scott (December 16, 2019). "Brussels'plans to tackle digital 'gatekeepers' spark fevered debate". Financial Times. Retrieved December 29, 2020. Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  5. ^ "EU Digital Services Act set to bring in new rules for tech giants". BBC News. 2020-12-15. Retrieved 2021-01-24.
  6. ^ Candidate for President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, 'A Union that strives for more: My agenda for Europe' (2019) (PDF).
  7. ^ "Press corner". European Commission - European Commission. Retrieved 2020-09-02.
  8. ^ "Europe asks for views on platform governance and competition tools". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2020-09-02.
  9. ^ "Online Violence: Stories from Bulgaria and Spain". EU Scream. October 11, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2020. Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  10. ^ a b c "The EU's attempt to regulate Big Tech: What it brings and what is missing". European Digital Rights (EDRi). December 18, 2020. Archived from the original on 2021-04-16. Retrieved December 29, 2020. Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  11. ^ Perrigo, Billy (December 15, 2020). "How the E.U's Sweeping New Regulations Against Big Tech Could Have an Impact Beyond Europe". Time. Retrieved December 29, 2020. Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  12. ^ Perrigo, Billy (December 15, 2020). "How the E.U's Sweeping New Regulations Against Big Tech Could Have an Impact Beyond Europe". Time. Retrieved December 29, 2020. Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  13. ^ Tidey, Alice; Lazaro, Ana; Parrock, Jack (December 15, 2020). "Digital Services Act: Brussels vows to 'put order into chaos' of digital world with new tech laws". Euronews. Retrieved December 29, 2020. Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  14. ^ Stolton, Samuel (2021-01-22). "Digital Brief, powered by Facebook: AI in EU, US tech rundown, Digital Euro plans". www.euractiv.com. Retrieved 2021-01-24.
  15. ^ Shead, Sam (2020-12-16). "Facebook criticizes Apple as it welcomes Europe's new tech rules". CNBC. Retrieved 2020-12-18.
  16. ^ Bertuzzi, Luca (2021-06-25). "Digital Brief: Calls for biometrical ban, online marketplaces' threat, Germany's antitrust crusade". www.euractiv.com. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  17. ^ Killeen, Molly (2021-06-25). "Media sector eyes opportunity to rebalance relations with online platforms". www.euractiv.com. Retrieved 2021-06-29.

External links[]

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