The European Union has long been keen to get its hands on Big Tech, and is seeking to rein it in with ambitious regulations that were approved yesterday by the European Parliament after several years of stormy debate. The Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA) were approved yesterday by an overwhelming majority by the European Parliament , which is intended to reduce the power (totally out of control) of the big technology companies.
Under the new DSA and DMA, Google, Amazon, Meta, Apple and co will all be subject to new obligations. Not surprisingly, the mantra behind both laws is “What’s illegal offline is also illegal online.”
The DSA will regulate social media and online platforms, while the DMA will target gatekeepers. Both laws will apply directly to all EU countries without transposition. Due to the complexity of the issues addressed by both laws, the whole of Europe will act in the same way towards the tech giants.
In the case of the DSA, the measures that form part of this regulation will be mandatory from 1 January 2024. However, the deadline for complying with this regulation will be somewhat shorter for large online platforms and search engines, which will have to subscribe to the DSA from 4 months after the publication of the regulation. In this sense, platforms such as Instagram, TikTok or Twitter will have to comply with the DSA at the beginning of 2023 under penalty of being fined up to 10% of their annual turnover (20% if they repeat the offence). For its part, the DMA will come into force six months after its publication, although for its precepts to be truly applicable, the companies directly concerned must first be designated as "gatekeepers".
What does the entry into force of the DSA mean?
The DSA will force big tech companies to explain in detail how their algorithms work , remove harmful content and ban certain types of advertising. This rule is especially focused on social networks, although it distinguishes between large platforms (more than 45 million monthly users) and small platforms. And the former will logically have to
Perhaps the most controversial measure of the DSA is the one that require israel number data s online platforms to quickly delete content of an illegal nature . Critics of the DSA argue that the removal of content could easily turn into censorship. However, the rule specifies that “fundamental rights, including freedom of expression and freedom of data, must be respected.”
The major platforms will also have to explain to the authorities how their algorithms work and give their users the possibility of accessing a "timeline" not based on their personal profile (and therefore at the mercy of personal preferences).
What the entry into force of the WFD means
The entry into force of the DMA also means the "death" of closed ecosystems. The idea is that companies that act as "gatekeepers" will allow the transfer of data from one side to the other (and that iMessage can, for example, work not only on iOS but also on Android).
Under the DMA, companies present on large online platforms such as Facebook will have the power, if they so wish, to download the data they generate there.
Furthermore, Big Tech will not be able to directly promote its own services over third-party services , nor will it be able to prevent its customers from installing other app stores.
While major tech companies have made changes in recent times to comply with the provisions of the DSA and DMA, it is unlikely that Google, Apple or Meta will scrupulously