About: DSA

Germany’s online hate speech law slammed by opposition, Commission

Civil rights activists and opposition politicians have slammed a recently approved amendment to Germany's law regulating online communications, saying it encroaches on freedom of expression and fragments the European legal space. EURACTIV Germany reports.

Facebook fears regulators’ competing demands for privacy, transparency

Facebook is in favour of more regulation but is concerned that platforms could be forced in "diametrically opposed directions" in terms of privacy and transparency requirements, Nick Clegg, the platform's vice president for global affairs, has said. EURACTIV France reports.

Facebook urges Ireland to hold off on political ads rules until EU legislation

Facebook has told Irish lawmakers that proposed new rules in the country to regulate online political advertising should be held off until the European Commission presents its own legislation in the field.

France already preparing for EU presidency in first half of 2022

With France set to take over the rotating EU Council Presidency in the first half of 2022, European Affairs Minister Clément Beaune last week launched two committees: a monitoring committee and a reflection committee. EURACTIV France reports.

MEP vies to target rogue traders in Digital Services Act

Online sellers of dangerous and counterfeit goods could be further targeted under the European Parliament's Internal Market committee report on the Digital Services Act, the lead MEP on the text said on Tuesday (23 February).

Don’t ignore platforms ‘combining services’ in Digital Markets Act, Netherlands says

More attention should be paid to whether platforms offer an 'ecosystem' of many different services, in terms of designating them as so-called 'gatekeeper platforms' and therefore coming under the scope of the proposed Digital Markets Act (DMA) rules, says a position paper published by the Dutch government.

French parliament adopts new rules to combat hate online

France's National Assembly adopted on Thursday (11 February) a series of articles and amendments for regulating hate online and on platforms and introduced steep penalties, as part of the country's much-debated bill on "reinforcing respect for the principles of the Republic". EURACTIV France reports.

Prohibit targeted advertising in Digital Services Act, EU data watchdog says

The EU should prohibit targeted advertising as part of new rules against Big Tech platforms in the bloc's Digital Services Act, the EU's institutional data protection watchdog has said.

Hungary raises concerns about ‘shadow banning’ of online speech

The practice of so-called 'shadow banning' is stifling freedom of expression online and may have to be addressed through regulatory measures, Hungary's Minister of Justice Judit Varga has said, accusing Facebook of inhibiting "Christian, conservative, right-wing opinions".

German law aims to tackle the market power of digital giants

Germany is modernising its competition law to stand up to digital corporations. In the future, the Cartel Office will be able to act faster and tougher when companies dominate the market. Europe can learn from this. EURACTIV Germany reports.

After Trump, we must fight to rebuild the ruins of democracy

Even after US President Trump is gone, the underlying causes of division, mistrust, and frustration won't go away and Europe must future-proof itself against any risks to democracy – particularly in the online world, writes Věra Jourová.

MEP Cavazzini: Social media response to US riots raises new questions for EU tech rules

Members of the European Parliament have a renewed duty to address the thorny issue of regulating social media content, in the wake of last week’s Capitol Hill riots, the chair of Parliament’s Internal Market committee has said.

Lawmakers call for tougher EU disinformation laws in wake of US riots

Lawmakers in the European Parliament have raised concerns at the role that social media played in the storming of the US Capitol in Washington, saying the EU's proposed Digital Services Act (DSA) should double down on the spread of conspiratorial material online.

Digital Brief, powered by Google: DSA and DMA – member states respond

Welcome to EURACTIV’s Digital Brief, your weekly update on all things digital in the EU. You can subscribe to the newsletter here.    The Digital Markets Act and Digital Services Act: An EU member state review   “We need to make rules...

Blacklist prohibitions to be ‘very limited’ to large platforms, Commission says

The scope of online platforms that will come under new regulatory prohibitions as part of the  European Commission's forthcoming Digital Markets Act (DMA) will be narrowly targeted to a set of 'big operators,' the EU executive has revealed.

Google’s last-ditch plea to Commission: Our EU services are at risk in Digital Markets Act

Google has warned that features used across the firm's Maps services are at risk of being dropped in the EU should the Commission introduce prohibitions against certain types of activity in the platform economy as part of the upcoming Digital Markets Act (DMA).

EU police recommend new online ‘screening tech’ to catch deepfakes

EU law enforcement authorities should make 'significant investments' into developing new screening technologies that could help to detect the malicious use of deepfakes, a new report from the bloc's police agency Europol recommends.

Vestager: Amazon has illegally abused market position with Big Data tactics

Amazon has violated EU antitrust rules in its use of non-public merchant data, cementing the platform's dominance in the eCommerce market and marginalizing third-party sellers, the European Commission's Vice President for Digital, Margrethe Vestager, has said.

In protecting Europe’s data, can EU regulation keep up with Chinese tech?

Europe's strategic autonomy and its ability to protect its citizens’ data privacy could depend on whether the Digital Services Act can keep up with China's influence over the technologies that shape our daily lives, writes Nicolas Tenzer.

Platforms should be allowed to take ‘voluntary measures’ in content removal, MEP says

The EU should focus on regulating illegal content as part of its upcoming Digital Services Act, which aims to present an ambitious new regulatory framework for online services, but platforms should also be allowed to take ‘voluntary measures’ to remove harmful content, MEP Dita Charanzová says.

Dutch Deputy Prime Minister calls for Digital Services Act regulation against AirBnB

As a means to tackle the negative side effects of the online short term rentals market, governments should be allowed better access to data from platforms such as Airbnb as part of the EU's Digital Services Act, the Netherland's Deputy Prime Minister Kajsa Ollongren has said.

EU Commission to introduce sanctions regime for illegal content in Digital Services Act

The European Commission will introduce fines and sanctions for platforms that repeatedly violate new obligations on managing illegal content online as part of the forthcoming Digital Services Act, an EU executive official close to the matter has informed EURACTIV.

Germany weighs in on EU’s bid to regulate digital giants

Germany has given an insight into its forthcoming approach for regulating the platform economy as part of the EU's Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act, two landmark packages set to be unveiled by the European Commission on 2 December.