Online hatred, counterfeiting… The European Union concludes its reform to better regulate the Internet


After a year and a half of discussions, the text was validated this Saturday. Deemed “historic” by Ursula von der Leyen, it aims in particular to make the giants of the Net responsible.

Better fight against calls for murder, pedophile images, disinformation campaigns or counterfeit products… The EU concluded new legislation on Saturday to better regulate the Internet. The text, discussed for almost a year and a half, must make the very large digital platforms, such as Facebook (Meta) or Amazon, responsible, by forcing them to remove illegal content and to cooperate with the authorities. “This agreement is historic”, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tweeted. “Our new rules will protect users online, ensure freedom of expression and opportunities for businesses,” she brags.

The digital services regulation, the Digital Services Act (DSA), is one of the two parts of a far-reaching plan presented in December 2020 by the European Commissioner for Competition, Margrethe Vestager, and her counterpart in the Internal Market , Thierry Breton.

The first part, the Digital Markets Act, which tackles anti-competitive practices, was concluded at the end of March. The DSA updates the e-commerce directive, born twenty years ago when the giant platforms were still embryonic. Objective: to put an end to lawless zones and abuses on the Web.

Misleading interfaces prohibited

The reform obviously concerns the excesses of social networks and online hate campaigns. The new regulation thus stipulates the obligation to withdraw “promptly” any illegal content (according to national and European laws) as soon as a platform becomes aware of it. It forces social networks to suspend users violating “frequently” the law.

It also targets sales platforms overrun with counterfeit or defective products, which can be dangerous, such as children’s toys that do not meet safety standards. The DSA will therefore oblige online sales sites to check the identity of their suppliers before offering their products and will prohibit misleading interfaces (“dark pattern”) which push Internet users towards certain account settings or certain paid services.

At the heart of the project, new obligations imposed on “very large platforms”, those counting “over 45 million active users” in the EU, i.e. around twenty companies, the list of which remains to be determined but which will include Gafam (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft), as well as Twitter, and perhaps TikTok or Booking .

These players must themselves assess the risks associated with the use of their services and put in place the appropriate means to remove problematic content. They will be imposed increased transparency on their data and recommendation algorithms.

They will be audited once a year by independent bodies and placed under the supervision of the European Commission, which may impose fines of up to 6% of their annual sales in the event of repeated infringements. In particular, the DSA prohibits the use of data on political opinions for the purpose of advertising targeting.

“Enormous potential”

This text “is a world first in terms of digital regulation”, underlined the Council of the EU, which represents the 27 member states. He “enshrines the principle that what is illegal offline must also be illegal online”.

The American whistleblower Frances Haugen, who denounced the passivity of Facebook in the face of the nuisances of its social networks, had welcomed in November the “tremendous potential” of the DSA, which could become a “reference” for other countries, including the United States.

Against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine and the disinformation campaigns it fosters, lawmakers added “a crisis response mechanism”, said the European Council. Activated by decision of the Commission, it will make it possible to take measures “proportionate and effective” against very large platforms that would help spread fake news.





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