EU negotiators have reached a deal on a landmark law to force Big Tech to crack down on illegal content and disinformation.
Officials from the French presidency of the Council of the EU and the European Parliament early Saturday morning brokered an agreement on the Digital Services Act (DSA) after a 16-hour negotiation marathon to resolve the remaining thorny issues on targeted advertising and rules for small and medium-sized businesses and online marketplaces.
“The Digital Services Act is a major milestone,” said Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton. “This is the first time in 20 years that Europe has tackled the regulation of the digital and information space.”
Proposed in 2020, the DSA aims to establish rules for digital companies like Facebook, Google, Amazon and Twitter to more forcefully police content on their platforms and protect people from illegal hateful speech and dangerous products.
EU negotiators agreed to ban targeted ads based on sensitive data and whether they’re aimed at minors. Online platforms will also be prohibited from using dark patterns — sneaky prompts to manipulate users into giving consent online.
After tense discussions around waivers for small and medium-sized companies to exempt them from applying some of the DSA rules, negotiators agreed that the Commission would give some financial help to startups.
The Commission will be tasked with overseeing very large platforms with over 45 million users based in the EU and will levy a fee worth 0.1 percent of these companies’ global annual revenues to fund enforcement work.
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