The Digital Services Act (DSA) is a European Union legal framework that aims to create a safer digital environment by establishing clear responsibilities for digital services, particularly online platforms and social networks. The DSA has several core objectives:
- Protecting users' rights in the digital space: The DSA ensures that users of digital services can exercise their rights online as effectively as offline. This includes protecting against illegal content and ensuring transparency and accountability in content moderation.
- Increased transparency: Platforms must disclose how their algorithms select and recommend content, including advertising. This should help users understand why they see certain content.
- Combating illegal content: The DSA requires online platforms to act more quickly and effectively against illegal content. This includes setting up mechanisms to report such content and ensure its prompt removal.
- Risk management: Large online platforms must identify risks that may arise from their services (e.g. spread of disinformation or hate speech) and take measures to mitigate them.
- Access to data for research purposes: The DSA requires platforms to share data with authorities and researchers to better understand and combat societal risks.
- Market supervision: Compliance with the DSA is ensured through structured supervision and enforcement at EU level, with national coordinators playing a key role.
The DSA is part of the EU's digital strategy package, which also includes the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which focuses on promoting fair competition and preventing market dominance by large online platforms. The DSA is an ambitious plan that aims to reform the digital landscape to protect consumers, strengthen users' rights and ensure a fairer online environment.
The DSA essentially came into force on February 17, 2024. Its provisions are directly applicable because it is an EU regulation that does not generally require implementation into national law. The DSA does not replace the E-Commerce Directive 2031/EC and thus the E-Commerce Act (ECG), but standardizes supplementary provisions.
In future, the DSA regulations will apply to all providers of intermediary services who must comply with transparency and reporting obligations. The obligation to take measures to combat illegal online content is planned. Micro and small enterprises, which are defined as companies with fewer than 50 employees and a maximum turnover of €10 million or a balance sheet total of €10 million, are largely exempt.
The most important aspect is that online platforms must provide complaint and legal redress mechanisms, and that in the event of violations, compensation can also be demanded from the operators of online platforms. In this context, it should also be pointed out that providers can continue to act in a way that releases them from liability by reacting quickly, i.e. providers are generally not liable as long as they have no knowledge of a specific violation of law.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that the Austrian legislature has adapted the national legal situation to the DSA by passing the "DSA Accompanying Act (DSA-BegG)". This law amended a number of other laws (e.g. the E-Commerce Act, the ABGB, the Copyright Act, the Media Act, etc.). Essentially, the regulations of this national adaptation also came into force on February 17, 2024.