Under new EU legislation, Google, Meta, and others will have to explain their algorithms, potentially reshaping the online world as we know it.
After hours of negotiating, early Saturday morning saw the bloc agree on the broad terms of the DSA (Digital Services Act), which in a nutshell, will force tech companies to take more responsibility for the content that populates their platforms.
Some of these responsibilities include removing illegal content and goods faster, taking stricter action against the spread of misinformation, and last but not least, explain to users and researchers how their algorithms work.
As said by European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen:
“The DSA will upgrade the ground-rules for all online services in the EU. It gives practical effect to the principle that what is illegal offline, should be illegal online. The greater the size, the greater the responsibilities of online platforms.”
Although the legislation only applies to EU citizens, these laws’ effects are bound to be felt in other parts of the world. It is possible that global tech companies will decide that it deems more cost-effective to implement a single strategy to adhere to the new legislations.
Although the final text of the DSA has not yet been released, the European Commission and European Parliament have detailed the obligations it will contain:
- Targeted advertising based on an individuals’ religion, sexual orientation, or ethnicity is banned. Minors cannot be subject to targeted advertising either.
- “Dark patterns” — confusing or deceptive user interfaces designed to steer users into making certain choices — will be prohibited. The EU says that, as a rule, cancelling subscriptions should be as easy as signing up for them.
- Large online platforms like Facebook will have to make the working of their recommender algorithms (e.g. used for sorting content on the News Feed or suggesting TV shows on Netflix) transparent to users. Users should also be offered a recommender system “not based on profiling.” In the case of Instagram, for example, this would mean a chronological feed.
- Hosting services and online platforms will have to explain clearly why they have removed illegal content, as well as give users the ability to appeal such takedowns. The DSA itself does not define what content is illegal, though, and leaves this up to individual countries.
- The largest online platforms will have to provide key data to researchers to “provide more insight into how online risks evolve.”
- Online marketplaces must keep basic information about traders on their platform to track down individuals selling illegal goods or services.
- Large platforms will also have to introduce new strategies for dealing with misinformation during crises (a provision inspired by the recent invasion of Ukraine).