2024-02-23 17:24:00
Is the end of the “digital Wild West” now? On February 17, the Digital Services Act came into force in the European Union. This law requires digital services (social networks, e-retailers, search engines, etc.) to be more transparent, and to better protect their users once morest disinformation, the sale of illicit or dangerous products, and misleading advertising. .. In other words: everything that certain digital players have been accused of for years is now very clearly punished by European law.
Very large platforms such as Facebook, the rules are simplified. Sonia Cissé, associate lawyer specializing in technology and data protection at Linklaters, returns to The Tribune on the issues of this text and its complex implementation.
LA TRIBUNE – An official procedure once morest TikTok was recently opened, because the platform is suspected of not respecting the DSA. Particularly regarding the lack of risk mitigation for minors and the dissemination of illicit content. In December, it was X (formerly Twitter) who was the target of an investigation for DSA violations. What do these first procedures say regarding what is at stake in this text?
SONIA CISSÉ – The genesis of this text is the sanitation of digital technology. As such, the protection of minors and the fight once morest disinformation were cited as major issues from the start. It is therefore not surprising that the first platforms targeted are TikTok and X.
The DSA cleans up the entire ecosystem. This text imposes an obligation of transparency (by asking actors to clearly display advertising content in particular, editor’s note) and to reporting (by forcing them, for example, to publish reports on content moderation in particular, editor’s note). For example, customers have the right to ask a platform who the seller is, and what the seller’s acceptance process was on the platform.
In the event of non-compliance, the sanctions are significant: fines can reach 6% of turnover. The large platforms were the first to be affected, but now all digital players must comply. This includes: intermediary services and hosting providers. Previously, the law for confidence in the digital economy (which dates from 2001) only focused on a small number of actors.
Is the DSA comparable to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in terms of enforcement?
For businesses, being DSA compliant will be less burdensome than GDPR. The problem is that this text is added to others. As many regulations come into force at the same time, this requires a lot of internal resources.
Companies come to us asking for “bundle” compliance programs, to comply with the DSA, but also the Digital Market Act (which concerns respect for competition and comes into force next month, editor’s note), the AI Act which regulates the use of artificial intelligence…
This last text is particularly worrying, because its definition of AI and the actors impacted is very broad. From the moment you interact with an artificial intelligence system, you are affected.
The watchword of the text – “clean up the web” to use your term – is strong, but does the DSA have the means to achieve its ambition?
This is the main argument put forward once morest this text: it does not have the means to match its ambition. In France, it is the Regulatory Authority for Audiovisual and Digital Communication which is in charge of its application. Recruitments have been made, but they are not very numerous.
However, there will be an effort to concentrate forces on very large platforms, those which are clearly problematic. Furthermore, a culture of compliance will take hold in Europe. There will be greater cooperation between the different authorities. We already note that the National Commission for Information Technology and Liberties (CNIL) and the Competition Authority have met twice, communicated regarding these meetings, and signed joint declarations.
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