The Digital Services Act (DSA) is a set of EU rules regulating online platforms. It ensures that content posted online—in blog posts, comments below YouTube videos and the like—is treated on a par with what is said offline. The DSA also imposes further obligations on the largest platforms, such as Facebook or X, requiring them to take into account "any actual or foreseeable negative effects on civic discourse" in their service design.
Quasi-judicial codes of practice policed by opaque out-of-court dispute-settlement bodies enforce the rules, often by encouraging platforms to take down more content than they might otherwise. Fines for non-compliance can reach 6% of global turnover. Critics argue that the DSA's vague language, particularly entreaties to ban "disinformation", invites questions about who decides what is real, and that it may have a chilling effect on free expression.
Americans worry that European platforms' more restrictive approach to speech will seep into their own public sphere, as tech firms apply a single set of rules globally.
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