The European Union's Digital Services Act (DSA), which aims to establish clear rules and standards to prevent illegal and harmful activities online, as well as the spread of disinformation, is set to start applying to all platforms from today, February 17.
On August 25, 2023, the act came into effect for 19 Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs) and Very Large Online Search Engines (VLOSEs), including Facebook, Google, TikTok, Apple AppStore and Amazon Store. These platforms and search engines with more than 45 million active users in the EU, are already subject to new provisions under the DSA, which include transparency obligations for large online platforms and enhanced cooperation among national authorities.
The goal is to facilitate the scaling up of smaller platforms and ensure a more harmonized approach to regulation across the EU. However, from today, all online platforms with users in the EU, except small and micro enterprises with fewer than 50 employees and an annual turnover of under €10 million, will have to start complying with the bloc’s rules. Their new responsibilities will include actions to prevent spreading illegal and harmful content, such as hate speech, terrorist propaganda, and counterfeit products, as well as measures that will ensure users get information about the advertisements they see.
The act also bans targeted advertising that is based on a person's sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, or political beliefs and places restrictions on targeted ads aimed at children. Besides online platforms, the DSA will also begin applying to hosting services and online intermediaries, which will be subject to a subset of oblations.
So what happens next? The European Commission and the Digital Services Coordinators will also form an advisory group dubbed the European Board for Digital Services, whose goal will be to "ensure that the DSA is applied consistently, and that users across the EU enjoy the same rights, regardless of where the online platforms are established." The board will hold its first meeting on Monday, February 19.
