The Digital Services Act (DSA) is an important new law in the European Union aimed at making. The online world is safer and more trustworthy. Together with the Digital Markets Act (DMA), it is part of a big plan to deal with the problems caused by the fast growth and power of online platforms.
The DSA sets rules to make sure digital companies work in a way that is clear, and fair. And respects the rights of people using them. This significant law impacts many online services like social media, online shopping sites, and more. Where people share videos or pictures, requiring them to follow new rules to protect people in Europe who use the internet.
In this blog post, we will explain the Digital Services Act in detail.
What Are The Digital Services?
Digital services cover a wide range of internet-based activities. From basic websites to the backbone services of the internet and various online platforms,
The Digital Services Act (DSA) sets rules mainly for online middlemen and platforms. It includes online shops, social media sites, platforms for sharing videos or pictures, app stores, and websites for booking trips or places to stay.
The DSA has special rules for very big online platforms and search engines that have over 45 million users a month in the EU. So, these large platforms must follow the toughest rules of the law.
The Digital Markets Act focuses on regulating major online platforms known as gatekeepers.
These are important digital platforms that play a crucial role in the market. They act as intermediaries between businesses and customers for key digital services. Some of these services are also mentioned in the Digital Services Act. But for different purposes and with different rules.
Objectives of the Digital Services Act.
The DSA aims to achieve several key objectives, including.
Make it safer for buyers.
This means it tries to keep buyers safe from bad stuff online, like illegal content, products, and services, by removing such content quickly. It also lets people report and challenge decisions made about content.
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Make things clear.
- Websites have to explain how they decide which content or ads to show you. Especially how they sort and suggest content, and they must share how they keep an eye on content. This also means they have to tell you why you see certain ads.
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Give people more power.
- The rules give you more choices to control what you see online and let you question decisions about removing or keeping content. So, You can also choose not to get suggestions made by a computer.
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Tackle big problems.
- Big websites have to check for and deal with big difficulties like fake news. How their content affects people’s mental health and how it might influence voting.
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Make things fair for everyone.
- The rules apply the same way to all online services in the EU. Those from other countries should make sure everyone plays by the same rules and competes fairly.
Key Provisions.
- Responsible.
Websites must clearly explain how they decide what content to allow or remove and let independent checks happen.
- Checking and Fixing Risks.
Big websites need to check for potential issues every year. Do something to prevent those concerns.
- Stopping Illegal Content.
The law sets up ways for people to report bad content and makes sure websites quickly take it down.
- Important Rights.
This law protects essential rights like privacy and free speech online by making sure websites. Do not go too far in controlling content.
- Responding to Emergencies.
When there is a big issue. The law helps organize a plan to stop the spread of false information and harmful content.
Impact and Enforcement:
The DSA will change the way online platforms work in the European Union. These platforms will have to spend more money on checking the content people post and open about how they work, and making sure they follow new rules.
The European Commission will make sure the DSA is followed. Companies pay fines of up to 6% of their worldwide earnings for the year if they do not follow the rules.
People are watching how the DSA works because it might pave the way for how the world handles rules for online companies. The DSA wants to make the internet safer for people in Europe and shows that the EU is leading the way in making rules for the online world.
