Platform Activities Increasingly in Europe's Regulatory Sight
Europe's focus on the behavior of internet platforms advanced Thursday on several fronts. The European Parliament's lead committee endorsed a provisional agreement with governments on the Digital Services Act (DSA). The European Commission announced stricter rules for tech companies to fight disinformation. And European telecom regulators are examining the role Big Tech plays in internet connectivity issues and competition dynamics.
The DSA and its sister measure, the Digital Markets Act (DMA), set "landmark standards for a safer and more open digital space for users and a level playing field for companies for years to come," said the Internal Market Committee (IMCO). Online platforms will be subject to new obligations according to their size and the risks they pose to society; micro and small companies will enjoy some exemptions. Penalties for non-compliance could be up to 6% of a platform's worldwide revenue.
Platforms such as social media and marketplaces will have to protect users from illegal content, goods and services, and act quickly when illegal content is reported, while respecting fundamental rights such as data protection and free speech, IMCO said. The rules require more transparency and accountability, with very large platforms required to give users at least one option not based on profiling. Use of sensitive data and targeting minors will be banned, as will "dark patterns" aimed at manipulating users' choice. Very large platforms and search engines (those with 45 million users or more) will be subject to stricter obligations to protect users from illegal content, including an annual independent audit and the requirement to carry out risk assessments of their services and address any risks by, for example, adapting their algorithms. Parliament is expected to vote on the DSA and DMA in July, followed by formal adoption by EU governments, the committee said.
The DSA provides the legal backbone for Europe's updated code of practice on disinformation, EC officials said at a Thursday briefing. Stronger commitments by major platforms such as Meta, Google, Twitter, Microsoft and other players, such as specialized platforms, the online ad industry, fact-checkers, civil society and others, are needed to fight Russian disinformation, said EC Vice President-Values and Transparency Vera Jourova: It shows "Europe has learned its lessons" and is no longer naive about fake news.
The voluntary industry code now has 34 signatories, and the EC wants more. Jourova highlighted three key provisions: (1) Preventing disinformation from paying off by ensuring that providers don't benefit from advertising revenue. (2) Requiring signers to provide meaningful data on disinformation at the country and language level to help fact-checkers. (3) Giving users tools to flag disinformation. The agreement is intended to become recognized as a code of conduct under the DSA to help very large platforms mitigate risks stemming from disinformation. Those platforms will also have some mandatory requirements under the DSA on disinformation, said Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton. Companies have six months to put their commitments in place, and will report to the EC early next year.
Twitter signed the original 2018 code and "remains committed to tackling misinformation and disinformation as we continue to evaluate and evolve our approach in this ever-changing environment," a spokesperson emailed. Google didn't respond.
"Big Tech companies have a growing impact on connectivity issues, openness and competition dynamics in the sector," said the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications. "Their increased involvement in providing services related to electronic communications services and their impact on telecom infrastructure and regulation deserve to be further assessed." It's consulting on a report on the internet ecosystem; comments are due July 22. The final report will feed into current and future work on digital environments, including contributing to the implementation of the DMA.