In the middle of last year, the European Parliament adopted new regulations concerning large internet companies called the Digital Services Act. This act establishes clear obligations for all service providers such as search engines or social networks, aimed at reducing the spread of illegal content and increasing user protection on the internet, particularly for minors.
Although the Act was adopted last year, it is only now that the European Commission has made a decision regarding which entities are covered by the Digital Services Act. Currently, the Commission’s list includes 17 large internet platforms and two major search engines, defined as those with at least 45 million active users per month.
As for the platforms, they include: YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, TikTok, Wikipedia, Alibaba AliExpress, Amazon Store, Apple AppStore, Booking.com, Google Play, Google Maps, Google Shopping, Pinterest, Snapchat, and Zalando. The search engines falling under the Act are currently Bing and Google Search.
User Protection
These companies must fulfill all new obligations arising from the Digital Services Act within four months, which include new measures to combat illegal content on the internet and the obligation for platforms to respond quickly, enhanced traceability, and checks on merchants in online markets to ensure the safety of products and services, increased transparency and accountability of platforms, for example, by providing clear information about content moderation or the use of algorithms for recommended content, a ban on misleading practices and certain types of targeted advertising such as those aimed at children and ads based on sensitive data.
