EU issues law to deter tech giants, protect netizens

The above “historic decision” was approved by the European Parliament and the member states of the European Union (European Union).EU) passed after a meeting lasting 16 hours on April 23. The new law is called the “Digital Services Act” (DSA).

Accordingly, Google and YouTube of Alphabet, Facebook and Instagram (Meta), TikTok, Twitter and other major online platforms will have to do more work to handle illegal content. If violated, they will be fined many billions of dollars, even banned from operating in EU countries.

“The DSA will upgrade the basic rules for all online services in the EU. It will ensure that the online environment remains a safe space, protecting freedom of expression and opportunity for businesses. It gives practical effect to the principle that what is offline is illegal, not just online. The larger the scale, the greater the responsibility of the online platforms.” – Owner European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen declared the act “historic”.

An important part of the law will limit how the digital giants target users with online advertisements. DSA will effectively prevent platforms from targeting users with algorithms, using sensitive data based on their gender, race or religion. Targeting children with ads will also be banned, according to Reuters.

“Dark patterns,” which are tactics that trick users into providing personal data online to companies or push users to certain products and services, will also be banned under the new rule. .

Many big tech companies risk billions of dollars in fines if they don’t comply with the DSA Act. Photo: Reuters

“DSA is the second spearhead of EU Antitrust Director Margrethe Vestager’s antitrust strategy aimed at reining in Google, Meta and other tech giants,” Reuters news agency wrote.

Indeed, last month, Ms. Margrethe Vestager won the support of 27 EU member states as well as legislators on the “Digital Markets Act” (DMA). The act could force Google, Amazon, Apple, Meta and Microsoft to change their core business practices in Europe.

“The Digital Services Act will ensure that what is illegal offline is also viewed and processed as illegal online – not as a slogan but in fact,” stressed Margrethe Vestager.

Under the DSA Act, companies face fines of up to 6% of global revenue if they break the regulations, while repeated violations could result in them being banned from doing business in the EU.

Tech firms could also be forced to hand over data related to their algorithms to regulators and researchers. They also pay an annual fee of up to 0.05% of their worldwide annual revenue to cover their compliance monitoring costs.

DSA is separate from DMA – but both come with the threat of hefty fines. While the DMA seeks to limit the market power of major tech firms, the DSA aims to ensure platforms remove malicious content quickly.

The law will also affect websites with user-generated content such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and TikTok.

The European Union’s Digital Services Act will come into force in 2024.