The European Union has approved a new bill that will pressure major tech companies like Meta, Google and Twitter to serve illegal content on their platforms. In case infringementof the law will risk paying billions of euros in fines.
After about 16 hours of negotiations, the EU reached an agreement early Saturday in Brussels on the Digital Services Act (Digital Services Act or simply DSA), a landmark law that requires companies to be very aggressive in controlling their content and to quickly delete anything that is deemed harmful or illegal.
"Our new regulations will protect internet users, ensure freedom of expression and business opportunities." said on Twitter EU President Ursula von der Leyen.
"What is illegal offline will be illegal on the internet in the EU. A strong message to people, businesses and countries around the world."
The historic vote has come one year after the introduction of the DSA and DMA law (Digital Markets Act from the Digital Markets Act) in the European Parliament. The EU approved them in a bid to limit the power of large technology companies in marketing. The EU Reported that the bill is the first in the world to target digital regulation.
"The objective is to protect the digital space from the spread of illegal content and to ensure the protection of the fundamental rights of users," the EU said. The platforms with more than 45 millions monthly active users in the EU will be subject to the new legislation.
A crucial part of the law limits how big tech companies can target users with online ads. The DSA will prevent platforms from targeting users with algorithms that use data with base their gender, race or religion. In addition, targeting children with advertisements was completely banned.
New EU legislation affecting popular Facebook and Instagram content platforms owned by Meta, Twitter, TikTok and YouTube is coming to the fore as lawmakers in the United States continue to tackle the same companies.
The EU legislation received praise from across the Atlantic. "It's a big moment for her politics technologyaround the world", said Jim Steyer, CEO of Common Sense Media, based in San Francisco, a non-profit advocacy group for children and families.
In a statement, Steyer said the law is "a milestone in the global fight to protect children and families from the harms of the Internet by these unregulated platforms."
"European lawmakers have taken a big step to make the Internet safer for children and teens. Legislators here need to look in the mirror and act quickly to protect our children and our democratic future. "Now is the time for Congress and the Biden administration."
