Case 3: Digital Services Act
Class European platform policies
Objectives
Be able to contextualize the difficulties of regulating platforms’ content
moderation
Identifying the key elements of the DSA and how these are linked to AVMSD
and EMFA
Identify the scope of the DSA, regulatory oversight and different players
captured by the DSA
Critically reflect on the effectiveness and shortcoming of current attempts
to regulate platforms
Concepts and context
Media use dominated by non-linear consumption + communication
mediated by social media, platforms and app-based services
Questions on content moderation, hate speech, what is acceptable and who
is responsible?
→ eg suspension of Trump on Twitter, FB removing hatespeech posts, Insta
censoring posts
Growing importance of social media platforms for news consumption
Growing expansion of fake news and disinformation
→ fake news alter perceptions and trust in legacy media
Algorithm-driven consumption
→ steers towards sensational, fake news posts and personalized
preferences
→ concerns over addictive behaviour (current DSA investigation on this)
→ digibesitas & doomscrolling
E-commerce tactics misleading consumers or untransparent to consumers
→ platforms = terms & conditions, seamless transition when companies
Case 3: Digital Services Act 1
, take over other companies (and thus consumer data), tactis like dark
patterns
Key issues:
Protection of citizens
Spread of fake news and misinformation
Discussions over what needs to be ‘deleted’ by whom & under which
circumstances
Is it a sole or collaborative responsiblity?
User massively encounter harmful and illegal content, goods and
services
Takes too long to take down illegal content ↔ legal content taken down
Lack of insight in how content is presented through personalized/curated
recommendation systems
Transparency and plurality issues
Lots of unclarity about how algorithms work & how they affect what we
get to see
Protection of journalists and publishers
What status/position for traditional media on social media platforms?
Protection of minors
Getting access to platforms
Notification mechanisms
Protection of consumers
How is data being used for personalization or third-party
commercialization?
EU policy framework
Steps taken
E-commerce Directive
Directive 2000/31/EC on electronic commerce (June 2000)
Case 3: Digital Services Act 2
, Objectives
Create a legal framework for online services, e-commerce, and the
digital single market within EU
Promote legal certainty and consumer confidence in online markets
Ensure free movement of online services across EU MS
Harmonize rules on liability, information requirements, and
electronic contracts
Country of origin principle = online service providers are generally
subject only to the country where they are established
Information duties = providers must clearly display contract details,
prices and commercial information
Electronic contracts = legal recognition of contracts concluded
electronically
Liability of intermediaries
Mere conduit =/ liable for transmitted content
Caching =/ liable if automatic and unaltered
Hosting =/ liable unless aware of illegal content + failure to act
(notice and take down)
No general monitoring obligation = platforms are not required to actively
monitor content
July 2019: EC Political Guidelines
One of the six EC Presidency Priorities = a Europe fit for the digital age
February 2020: Communication Shaping Europe’s Digital Future
Part of a broader digital strategy
Ambition to capture platforms ↔ need to act swiftly
Case 3: Digital Services Act 3
Class European platform policies
Objectives
Be able to contextualize the difficulties of regulating platforms’ content
moderation
Identifying the key elements of the DSA and how these are linked to AVMSD
and EMFA
Identify the scope of the DSA, regulatory oversight and different players
captured by the DSA
Critically reflect on the effectiveness and shortcoming of current attempts
to regulate platforms
Concepts and context
Media use dominated by non-linear consumption + communication
mediated by social media, platforms and app-based services
Questions on content moderation, hate speech, what is acceptable and who
is responsible?
→ eg suspension of Trump on Twitter, FB removing hatespeech posts, Insta
censoring posts
Growing importance of social media platforms for news consumption
Growing expansion of fake news and disinformation
→ fake news alter perceptions and trust in legacy media
Algorithm-driven consumption
→ steers towards sensational, fake news posts and personalized
preferences
→ concerns over addictive behaviour (current DSA investigation on this)
→ digibesitas & doomscrolling
E-commerce tactics misleading consumers or untransparent to consumers
→ platforms = terms & conditions, seamless transition when companies
Case 3: Digital Services Act 1
, take over other companies (and thus consumer data), tactis like dark
patterns
Key issues:
Protection of citizens
Spread of fake news and misinformation
Discussions over what needs to be ‘deleted’ by whom & under which
circumstances
Is it a sole or collaborative responsiblity?
User massively encounter harmful and illegal content, goods and
services
Takes too long to take down illegal content ↔ legal content taken down
Lack of insight in how content is presented through personalized/curated
recommendation systems
Transparency and plurality issues
Lots of unclarity about how algorithms work & how they affect what we
get to see
Protection of journalists and publishers
What status/position for traditional media on social media platforms?
Protection of minors
Getting access to platforms
Notification mechanisms
Protection of consumers
How is data being used for personalization or third-party
commercialization?
EU policy framework
Steps taken
E-commerce Directive
Directive 2000/31/EC on electronic commerce (June 2000)
Case 3: Digital Services Act 2
, Objectives
Create a legal framework for online services, e-commerce, and the
digital single market within EU
Promote legal certainty and consumer confidence in online markets
Ensure free movement of online services across EU MS
Harmonize rules on liability, information requirements, and
electronic contracts
Country of origin principle = online service providers are generally
subject only to the country where they are established
Information duties = providers must clearly display contract details,
prices and commercial information
Electronic contracts = legal recognition of contracts concluded
electronically
Liability of intermediaries
Mere conduit =/ liable for transmitted content
Caching =/ liable if automatic and unaltered
Hosting =/ liable unless aware of illegal content + failure to act
(notice and take down)
No general monitoring obligation = platforms are not required to actively
monitor content
July 2019: EC Political Guidelines
One of the six EC Presidency Priorities = a Europe fit for the digital age
February 2020: Communication Shaping Europe’s Digital Future
Part of a broader digital strategy
Ambition to capture platforms ↔ need to act swiftly
Case 3: Digital Services Act 3
