EU DSA

The Digital Services Act (DSA) is designed to protect users against illegal and harmful content and goods, as well as the spread of disinformation online. It aims to ensure user safety, protect fundamental rights, and create a fair and open online platform environment, including focussing on the online safety of children. Content moderation and reporting is of crucial importance to achieving this goal.

Like the GDPR, the DSA has extra-territorial scope meaning that it applies to both EU companies and to companies without an establishment in the EU.

The scope of the DSA is narrower than the GDPR as it only applies to organizations providing intermediary services. The types of service being provided determines which obligations under the DSA apply. This reflects a risk-based approach to regulation that imposes stricter obligations on the services which present a higher societal risk.

All non-EU intermediary service providers (no matter which type) are required to appoint a legal representative. The representative’s main task is to be the addressee for communications with the competent national authorities, the European Commission, and European Board for Digital Services.

The importance of the DSA is reflected in the fines that may be imposed for non-compliance. Fines for all intermediary services can reach a maximum of 6% of an organizations annual worldwide turnover, which is considerably greater than under the GDPR. In addition, the DSA provides for periodic penalties of 5% of the average daily income where where an intermediary service does not cooperate with the relevant authorities.