Google recently reported a massive action against billions of pieces of content on its Google Play and Shopping services. This action was taken in accordance with the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which requires online platforms to report and remove illegal or harmful content.
According to the latest data from the European Commission, Google has submitted more than 14.4 billion explanatory memoranda to the Commission since the Digital Services Act came into force in December 2023. This means that Google has restricted or removed more than 14.4 billion pieces of content on its services over the past three months.
As a reminder, the DSA is a new set of rules aimed at creating a safer and fairer online environment for EU users and businesses. It applies to large online platforms that offer intermediary services, such as hosting, transmission or classification of content. In particular, the DSA requires online platforms to take measures to prevent the dissemination of illegal content. The DSA provides for fines that can go up to 6% of the platform’s annual turnover in the event of non-compliance or repeated infractions.
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Google is forced to remove thousands of products from Shopping
The majority of these reports, more than 13.5 billion, concern Google Shopping, a service that allows users to compare and purchase products from different online retailers. Google said it has removed thousands of products and advertisers from Google Shopping for violating its terms and conditions, including using misleading or inappropriate images, text or criteria in their ads.
Google’s reasons for removing products or advertisers from Google Shopping include criteria issues, images with promotional text or obstructions, products with adult content, and products with generic images.
It is unclear whether Google’s action on Google Shopping has any connection to the antitrust case that the European Commission launched against Google in 2017. The Commission accused Google of abusing its dominant position in the field of research to favor its own price comparison service over its competitors. The Commission imposed a record €2.4 billion fine on Google, which appealed to the Court of Justice of the EU. However, at the end of 2021, the Court had largely confirmed the Commission’s decision and the fine.
The other reports, more than 208,000, concern Google Playa service that allows users to download and use applications on their Android devices. Google said it has removed thousands of apps from Google Play for various reasons, such as violation of intellectual property rights, presence of malware or poor quality. Google said it removed most apps from Google Play in response to notifications submitted by rights holders or authorities, in accordance with Article 16 of the Data Protection Act, which governs a type of removal mechanism. DMCA for illegal content.
What does this mean for users and businesses?
Google reports show that DSA has a significant impact on the online ecosystem and the availability of content and services to users and businesses. Users and businesses now need to think about how they can ensure that their content or services are not unfairly or wrongly removed or restricted by online platforms. For its part, the DMA is also starting to be effective, since after banning Epic Games, Apple is now forced to bring Fortnite back to the App Store.