What rules for the web? That question has been given new urgency on January 6th. The European Union, at the end of 2020, proposed the Digital Services Act (DSA). This new legislation aims at creating clarity about the responsibility of tech platforms and intermediaries. European rules, just as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) did, will likely have ripple effects worldwide.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaSHmuhAgwU

https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/europe-fit-digital-age/digital-services-act-ensuring-safe-and-accountable-online-environment_en#what-is-the-impact-of-new-obligations

effective protection of users’ fundamental rights online, including the freedom of speech.


measures to counter illegal goods, services or content online, such as a mechanism for users to flag such content and for platforms to cooperate with “trusted flaggers”
new obligations on traceability of business users in online market places, to help identify sellers of illegal goods.
effective safeguards for users, including the possibility to challenge platforms’ content moderation decisions
transparency measures for online platforms on a variety of issues, including on the algorithms used for recommendations
obligations for very large platforms to prevent the misuse of their systems by taking risk-based action and by independent audits of their risk management systems
access for researchers to key data of the largest platforms, in order to understand how online risks evolve
oversight structure to address the complexity of the online space:

EU countries will have the primary role, supported by a new European Board for Digital Services; for very large platforms, enhanced supervision and enforcement by the Commission
https://audiovisual.ec.europa.eu/en/video/I-200453?&lg=EN