An EU law for more justice and security on the Internet has cleared an important hurdle. The responsible committee of the European Parliament agreed on a compromise on the law for digital services, as the Strasbourg institution announced on Tuesday. The law aims to better protect consumers from disinformation, hate speech and buying counterfeit products, among other things. The Green MP Alexandra Geese described the law as the “new basic law of the Internet”. The committee compromise is to be submitted to the entire EU Parliament for a vote in January. If the MPs agree, the decisive negotiations with the EU states begin. The planned rules are part of a digital legislative package proposed by the EU Commission in December 2020. The law on digital services addresses social problems on the Internet, such as the question of how digital giants like Google or Facebook should deal with illegal content or hate speech. The following should apply: the larger the platform, the more rules it has to observe. The committee advocated the need to make algorithms that platforms use to choose what users will see next in their news feeds more transparent. So-called dark patterns, i.e. mechanisms that urge users to make a decision or purchase online, should be banned. These include, for example, constantly appearing pop-up windows or warnings of an allegedly extremely short supply. In addition, underage users should be better protected from personal advertising.
Disinformation and hate speech – “New Basic Law of the Internet” – Economy
