How is the European Union’s Digital Services Act keeping people safe online? 

The Digital Services Act (DSA) is a “rulebook” that regulates digital services in the European Union, including host providers, online marketplaces, and social media and search engine platforms. It is a key tool to improve online safety and transparency in the 27 member states of the EU while safeguarding fundamental rights. 

In this blog, you will learn how the DSA is holding social media and search engine platforms accountable in the EU, how it is tackling online hate and misinformation, and what happens when platforms don’t comply with its requirements. This blog also covers how the DSA is protecting kids online.

What is the Digital Services Act (DSA)? 

The European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA) is a set of rules for digital services acting as intermediaries for consumers and goods, services, and content. Under the DSA, social media and search engine platforms must comply with obligations such as risk assessments and mitigation efforts. 

These requirements force companies to investigate whether their platforms are failing to tackle online harms, hate, and misinformation, allowing them to mitigate the problem. The DSA also requires more transparency of algorithms and advertising from these platforms. The supervision of the rules is shared between the European Commission and the EU member states. Each EU member is required to designate competent authorities (Digital Services Coordinators) to supervise compliance with the DSA within their country. 

The DSA finished entering into force in 2024. It is an important tool to tackle online harms as it makes social media platforms more accountable across the European Union’s 27 member states, protecting users and their fundamental rights.  

Which platforms are covered by the DSA? 

The DSA imposes obligations on all intermediaries providing online services to the European Union, with additional requirements for large platforms with over 45 million active monthly EU users.  

Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, Twitter/X, TikTok, LinkedIn, and Google’s Search, Play, Shopping, and YouTube are included in the DSA’s ‘very large online platform’ (VLOP) and ‘very large online search engine’ (VLOSE) categories. This means that these platforms must comply with the DSA additional requirements to be able to operate in Europe.  

Once the platform is designated as a VLOP or VLOSE, it has four months to comply with these obligations. 

What are social media and search engine platforms’ obligations under the DSA? 

Under the DSA, platforms are required to assess the risks associated with their platforms, reflecting them in their terms and conditions.  

These companies must investigate risks related to illegal content, fundamental rights, effects on democratic processes, gender-based violence, public health, protection of minors, and mental and physical wellbeing. 

To minimize these risks, platforms must also have mitigation measures in place such as changing their terms of service, platform design or their recommendation systems (algorithms). This forces platforms to look at how hate and misinformation contribute to DSA systemic risks and counter them effectively.   

How is the DSA protecting kids online? 

The DSA requires platforms used by minors to give them extra protection, requiring they: 

• Design their service with the highest level of privacy, security and safety for minors; 
• Not present advertisements to minors based on profiling; 
• Ensure their terms and conditions are easily understandable to their users. 

Very large social media and search engine platforms must also make sure their risk assessment covers fundamental rights, which include the rights of the child. They have to assess the risk of exposure to content that could harm young people’s physical or mental wellbeing. 

How does the DSA improve transparency? 

The DSA requires that large platforms publish public reports on user statistics, advertising practices and human content moderation. This is in addition to the abovementioned risk assessments and accompanying mitigation measures.  

To ensure platforms are transparent in their reporting, they must also undergo annual independent audits, the results of which must also be reported publicly. 

The DSA also empowers the European Commission and national digital regulators to access to algorithms and any data necessary to assess the risk and harm brought produced by platforms. 

Adding further to external scrutiny, researchers who obtain “vetted researcher” status from a national Digital Services Coordinator can request access to specific platform data to conduct studies on systemic risks and other relevant topics. This additional check on platforms is crucial to ensuring accountability. 

What happens when platforms don’t comply with the DSA? 

Very large social media and search engine platforms that fail to comply with the DSA can be subject to significant fines of up to 6% of their global turnover. The European Commission has already opened dozens of investigations into the world’s biggest social media companies, including X, TikTok, and Meta.  

The European Commission and the Digital Services Coordinator can also require immediate actions to address very serious harms. In this case, platforms can offer commitments on how they will remedy them. 

If a platform is endangering the safety and rights of EU citizens by refusing to comply with DSA obligations, it will be possible as a last resort to ask a court for a temporary suspension of their service. 

The DSA addresses the key principles of CCDH’s STAR Framework, our blueprint for social media platforms’ regulation: Safety-by-design, Transparency, Accountability, and Responsibility. We believe that the implementation of meaningful regulation is essential to combat online harms, build a fairer internet, and fortify democracy.  

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