Dsa, what changes for Google, Facebook and not only with the Strasbourg approval of the Digital Services Act
The European Parliament has approved a proposal for the Digital Services Act, the regulation for the moderation of content published on platforms. Here is what it foresees, what effects it will have and what legislative process awaits it
On Thursday the European Parliament approved with 530 votes in favor and 78 against the proposal for a regulation on the algorithms of the so-called "web platforms" and on the management of published content. The term "platforms" refers to social networks (Facebook, for example) or marketplaces for online shopping (such as Amazon).
The name of the text is Digital Services Act and it is one of two packages – the other is called the Digital Markets Act – which should allow the European Union to keep large foreign technology companies under control and stimulate the growth of its digital sector. The dominant technology companies in Europe are essentially US, and collectively referred to as "Big Tech" or "GAFA": Google (part of Alphabet), Apple, Facebook ( changed its name to Meta ) and Amazon.
WHAT HAPPENS NOW
To be definitively successful, the proposal approved on Thursday will have to go through the negotiations with the European Council and the Commission, after which it will have to be applied by the various member countries. France, which has assumed the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union since the beginning of January, thinks a final agreement can be reached by mid-2022.
The Digital Services Act was first drafted by Margrethe Vestager, Commissioner for Competition and head of the “Europe Fit for the Digital Age” program.
Brussels' ambition is to make the Digital Services Act a global regulatory reference, replicating the success of the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), the European legislation on the protection of personal data.
WHAT THE DIGITAL SERVICES ACT INCLUDES
The main proposals contained in the current version of the Digital Services Act are three: the establishment of a notice and action mechanism to oblige the owners of the platforms to promptly remove illegal content and to combat the spread of false news; the strengthening of the obligation for marketplace managers to guarantee the reliability of sellers; the obligation to ensure the "transparency" of algorithms (the systems that determine the content and advertisements we see on the Internet, in short).
Furthermore, users will have more information on the functioning of the mechanisms behind targeted advertising (those that take into account their interests and their browsing history on the Internet) and more options to deny authorization to process data. Minors and other groups considered vulnerable will be excluded from targeted advertising.
SAVORY FINES
If technology companies fail to comply with their obligations to remove illegal and controversial content, they face fines of up to 6 percent of their worldwide turnover. Small and medium-sized digital companies are excluded from certain rules, which would be too complex and burdensome for them to comply with.
THE CONSEQUENCES FOR THE MEDIA
Ilias Konteas, director of EMMA, the association of European publishers, told Repubblica that "it is positive that, according to amendment 513, in order to cancel legal content, platforms must respect freedom of expression and freedom of the media. the courts decide this in the last resort and not them. But it is bad that new rules on data protection have arisen, when the GDPR is already in place. If online advertising is hindered, the self-financing of the media is weakened ”.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/digital-services-act-cosa-cambia-google-facebook/ on Fri, 21 Jan 2022 09:51:15 +0000.