Digital Services Act (DSA)

Full name: Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on a Single Market for Digital Services and amending Directive 2000/31/EC (Digital Services Act)

Type: Regulation

Objective and key elements:

• Uniform rules for a safe, predictable and trusted online environment, where fundamental rights enshrined in the Charter are effectively protected.
• Contributing to the proper functioning of the internal market for intermediary services.
• Obligations include (i.a):
  • ban on nudging and dark patterns
  • know your customer
  • transparency in targeted advertising
  • transparency in ranking parameters
  • ban on targeting minors and using special categories of data
• Requirements for online platforms:
  • obligation to "clean up"
  • obligation to start sharing how algorithms and processes work, and
  • obligation to put processes in place to remove illegal goods and content quickly and to crack down on users who spread misinformation

Relevant to: Providers and users of online intermediary services (network infrastructure services, online marketplaces, hosting services cloud providers, social media platforms, search engines)

Status: In force. However, certain obligations enter into force in sequences and full implementation is to be completed by 17 February 2024