Belgium, (Brussels Morning Newspaper) The European Commission noted that its Digital Services Act (DSA) has come into force.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the Commission stressed that new rules are aimed at protecting users online and increasing legal certainty, among other.
The EC pointed out that the DSA is “a first-of-a-kind regulatory toolbox globally” that will help to regulate online content and increase oversight.
According to new rules, large online platforms used by more than 10% of the EU population will be subject to rules aimed at reducing the risk of “online harms.”
New rules require such platforms to be assessed annually for facilitating what the EC deems to be dissemination of disinformation or harmful content.
EC’s control over smaller platforms and services will not be as strict and they will enjoy exemptions as well as “increased legal clarity and certainty for operating across the whole EU single market.”
At the same time, the Commission says new rules include “protections for the freedom of expression” that will limit content moderation, stressing that online platforms must respect users’ fundamental rights.
Unprecedented, centralised moderation
The body pointed out that new rules create “an unprecedented level” of oversight of online content on the level of the EU, stressing that the rules grant it “powers to directly supervise… companies which individually reach more than 10% of the EU population.”
In addition, national authorities are to form bodies to supervise online content “for non-systemic issues” and cooperate with the EC. According to the Commission, new rules will transform the internet into a “safe, predictable and trusted online environment.”
The EC noted that online platforms have three months to report their user counts, which will be used to determine the level of regulatory oversight.
The Commission reminded that it proposed the DSA at the end of 2020 with the aim of ensuring “a safer, more fair digital space for all” and reiterated that new rules came into effect at the start of November this year.
Margrethe Vestager, European Commissioner for Competition, concluded that “online platforms are at the core of some of the key aspects of our daily lives, democracies, and economies,” stressing the importance of regulating them.
