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EU puts Facebook and Co. on a leash
In the future, social media must take stricter action against illegal content. photo
© Bernd Weißbrod/dpa
Child pornography, terror propaganda and counterfeit branded shoes: the Internet is full of illegal things. Facebook, Tikok and Co. should now take stricter action against it. Answers to the most important questions.
It’s getting uncomfortable for the tech giants in the EU? According to a new law, Facebook, Google and many others will have to take stricter action against illegal content on the Internet, otherwise they face hefty fines. As of today, the law is legally enforceable. What specifically changes.
What is it all about?
The EU passed a law on digital services last year. It is intended to ensure that platforms and search engines remove illegal content from their sites faster than before. In turn, it will be easier for users to report such content. Basically, large services have to follow more rules than small ones.
Which companies are affected?
First of all, very large platforms and search engines with more than 45 million active users per month are affected. Stricter requirements apply to them than to smaller companies. Because from the point of view of the EU, they pose a particularly great risk to society.
In April, the European Union classified 19 companies as “very large online platforms” and “very large online search engines”. These include X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok and several Google services, but also Zalando, Wikipedia, Booking.com, the Amazon Marketplace and Apple’s App Store. They now had four months to implement the EU requirements.
What exactly is changing?
In the future, terms and conditions must be formulated in such a way that every child can understand them, says an EU official. Online marketplaces such as Amazon or Alibaba AliExpress should, for example, remove offers of counterfeit clothing or dangerous toys as much as possible and warn buyers accordingly.
Platforms and search engines not only have to delete illegal posts more quickly than before – in future they will also provide the EU Commission with a detailed report on the risks for the citizens of Europe. Snapchat or YouTube, for example, have to check whether their offer promotes cyber violence, undermines freedom of expression or whether their algorithm has a negative impact on the human psyche. The companies must then take appropriate measures.
What about advertising?
Targeted ads are also banned if they are based on sensitive data such as religion or political beliefs. Personal data from children and young people may no longer be collected for advertising purposes.
In addition, the secrecy of the platforms should be limited: In the future, they will have to disclose more information about how they work. According to an EU official, many of the changes will not be immediately visible to consumers, but rather take place in the background. However, the long-term effect should not be underestimated.
What are the corporations saying?
Meta, with its flagships Facebook and Instagram, has put together a team of 1,000 employees just to work on the Digital Services Act (DSA). Google promised more transparency – including in the guidelines and with additional information about addressing individual target groups in advertisements. There should also be new tools for researchers to access data.
A few weeks ago, Tiktok announced that it would introduce an alternative, less personalized algorithm for users in the EU and provide more transparency with regard to advertisements on the platform.
But not all tech giants are willing to just accept the rules. Amazon and Zalando have already filed lawsuits. They see themselves wrongly classified as “very large online platforms” and argue that the rules should not apply to them as traders. Other lawsuits could follow.
How does it go from here?
If the corporations do not comply with the requirements, they face a fine of up to six percent of global annual sales. The responsible EU Commissioner Thierry Breton emphasized on Thursday: “Compliance with the DSA is not a punishment – it is a way for platforms to strengthen their trustworthiness.” From February 2024, the rules will also apply to smaller digital companies.