Europe is on the verge of curing social media addiction with this new regulation

The famous DSA, the next standard European regulation on digital services, could well change the lives of users.

In many ways, the Digital Services Act (DSA), which is due to come into force on Friday August 25, 2023, will shift the regulation of the digital sector into a new era. Among the key measures defended by the text applicable to the giants Google, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Snap, TikTok and others, the one that allows deactivating the personalization of content recommendations will be the most impactful, for the benefit of users. And that’s good.

You will be better informed about how content recommendation algorithms work…

The DSA is intended to reinforce the security of online users, by fighting against the dissemination of multiple illicit content (racist, child pornography, sale of drugs or counterfeits, etc.). It must also offer Internet users and mobile users greater transparency in their browsing, in particular by setting up an internal system for processing complaints, in the event of an account being terminated or suspended.

The platforms will have to operate a permanent watch to regulate the content, but also to anticipate each potential drift. They will have to analyse, each year, the systemic risks that they may generate and take all the necessary measures to mitigate them.

The most important point for respecting the privacy of users concerns the recommendation of content. Platforms now have an obligation to explain to European citizens how algorithms work, the purpose of which is to offer such and such content according to the user’s profile.

… and you can even deactivate them!

The big change is that you will now be able to simply deactivate these famous recommendation algorithms. European users will thus be able to control the content displayed on Facebook, Instagram or other. A real revolution, which should still take a little more time in its overall implementation, with adapted features that could be available on all platforms in the coming months.

Several players affected by the measures put in place by the new regulation have already unveiled their adjustments. This is particularly the case for TikTok, Meta or Snapchat.

In the event of non-compliance with the provisions of the Digital Services Act, the major platforms and major search engines which must apply and respect the text may be fined up to 6% of their worldwide turnover. If they persist or if they repeat certain failings, they may be prohibited from operating on the European Union market. We are finally on our way to curing our addiction to social networks, right?

Sources: Clubic, European Union