Nineteen of the biggest online platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter, are set to come under stricter regulatory rules for content, according to the European Union (EU). The EU has designated these platforms as having user numbers so big that they must comply with the Digital Services Act (DSA), which imposes measures such as annual audits and effectively countering disinformation and hate content. The platforms meeting the 45-million-plus threshold include Google, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Apple’s iOS App Store, Wikipedia, Snapchat, Pinterest, and others. TikTok and e-commerce site AliExpress, owned by Chinese companies, are also listed, as is the German online fashion retailer, Zalando.
The DSA allows the EU to impose fines of up to six percent of a platform’s annual global sales for repeated infringements, and the platforms must have an independent compliance system in place and give their first annual risk assessment to the European Commission by August 25, 2023. The DSA is one of two major laws that the EU passed last year to protect its users from digital platforms, and the second law, the Digital Markets Act, prohibits anti-competitive behavior by so-called “gatekeepers” of the internet.
The DSA aims to strengthen transparency around digital services, prohibit the sale online of unsafe goods, and allow users to have greater choices when online in the EU. This move by the EU comes as part of a growing effort to regulate Big Tech and rein in their power, especially in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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