The Digital Services Act Is Now EU Law

The European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA) regulation was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on October 27. According to Article 93 of the DSA, this legislation will become binding for online platforms starting February 17, 2024. It will apply directly and uniformly across all 27 EU member states, without the need for national implementation — unlike the EU Copyright Directive. The DSA is the EU’s flagship digital policy. It sets new rules for all online platforms (including search engines, peer-to-peer services, social media, AI, marketplaces, cloud storage, and more) concerning illegal and unlicensed content. The main political goal is to enforce the principle that “what is illegal offline must also be illegal online.” The DSA expands on Article 17 (which was limited to user-uploaded content platforms) by establishing clear rules and responsibilities for a broader range of digital services, such as search engines, app stores, hosting sites, and internet service providers (ISPs). “Big Tech” is spending €97 million in the 2022 fiscal year lobbying the EU to block this legislation. In the coming weeks, ICMP will host an interactive ICMP #DigitalSeries webinar for its members to explain the practical business applications and implications of the DSA for the industry.