Il Digital Services Act (DSA) is a regulation in force in the European Union which aims to promote safer digital spaces, protect the fundamental rights of end users and establish clear rules aimed at encouraging innovation, growth and competitiveness, both in the market only European and globally. Become fully operational starting December 16, 2022, the digital platforms of large dimensions had time to adapt to the new rules until 2 May 2023. Now, however, the circle is narrowing and heavy obligations for the sites that must comply with the DSA. Let’s see what they are and how the legislation affects, in some way and strictly, anyone who manages one online platform.
The obligations for sites that must comply with the requirements of the European DSA
Websites required to comply with the obligations contained in the DSA European Union are required to implement a series of measures that are anything but trivial. In fact, the DSA requires that online platforms must make it easier for users to report illegal content; requires giving priority to the complaints received from “reliable flags“; indicates to provide a means to make any disputes (appeals) against the decisions of content moderation; provides for the publication of an annual transparency report that details the content moderation processes and allows systems to be strengthened in order to guarantee a high level of privacy and security, while at the same time protecting the safety of minors.
The page published on the European Commission website summarizes the main obligations established by current legislation.
Shortly before Christmas, the European Commission opened a case against X (formerly Twitter) contesting the failure to apply the provisions of the DSA and more recently the executive body of the European Union, currently chaired by Ursula von der Leyen, has turned its attention to three porn sites (Pornhub, Stripchat e XVideos) designandoli come “very large online platforms“. The name used, which on the surface may not seem very qualifying, is actually the crux of the matter.
What are VLOPs and VLOSEs
DSA classifies online platforms and search engines that have more than 45 million users per month within the borders of the European Union as “very large online platforms“(VLOP) e “very large online search engines” (VLOSE).
The Commission has started to designate i FLOP (very large online platforms) ei VLOSE (very large online search engines) currently operational online based on the numbers of active users, provided by the platforms themselves and search engines. Regardless of dimensionsthis data had to be published by 17 February 2023 and updated every six months.
Once the Commission designates a platform as VLOP or a search engine as VLOSE, the service that receives notification of its new “status” has 4 months time to comply with the requirements contained in the DSA. The three sites mentioned above, for example, are formally encouraged to get in order no later than February 17, 2024.
Obviously, the Commission undertakes to revoke any decisions taken if the platforms do not exceed the threshold of 45 million monthly users for an entire year.
The list of VLOP and VLOSE (the latter, among the search engines, are currently only Google e Bing) currently contains 19 names in addition to the ones already mentioned Pornhub, Stripchat e XVideos.
A provision that potentially concerns all those who manage online platforms
It is obvious that the European Commission and the investigators of the Central Authorities know well which websites are potentially recipients of the DSA obligations.
As confirmed in the document “Guidance on the requirement to publish user numbers“, also available in Europen, pursuant to Article 24, paragraph 2, of the Digital Services Regulation (DSA), “Online platform and online search engine providers are required to publish, for each platform or search engine they operate, information on the average monthly number of active recipients of their service in the Union. All this by February 17, 2023 and thereafter at least once every six months, in a section of their online interface that is accessible to the public“.
Translated, anyone who has a website or an online platform must make known – through a publicly accessible section – the monthly performances in terms of traffic. The data must refer only and exclusively to users who access the service from member states of the European Union and not from clients located outside the borders.
The regulation does not require notify the information on the monthly average of users to the European Commission or any other national authority, unless this is expressly requested.
In the case of e-commerce platforms or other online tools that also allow the acquisition of goods or services; furthermore, the users to be counted on a monthly basis are all those who interact with the system in some way, not just those who carry out economic transactions.
Potentially very severe sanctions
The penalties for failure to comply with the DSA requirements can prove particularly steep, even for the most solid and structured multinationals.
Platform owners can be fined up to 6% of theirs annual global revenue. The Commission may also impose fines of up to 5% of the average global daily revenue for each day of delay, when VLOP and VLOSE fail to implement the prescribed interventions, provisional measures or agreed commitments.
In extreme cases, the European Commission can also ask national courts to block access to certain services, using the technical solutions deemed most effective.