The Digital Services Act (DSA) is a Legislative Proposal, passed by the European Union (EU) Commission, to modernise the e-Commerce Directive regarding Illegal Content, Transparent Advertising, and Disinformation.

It was submitted along with the Digital Markets Act by the European Commission to the European Parliament and the Council, on December 15th 2020.

The DSA was prepared by the Executive Vice President of the European Commission, for A Europe Fit for the Digital Age, Margrethe Vestager and by the European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton, as Members of the Von der Leyen Commission.

The New Rules are Proportionate, foster Innovation, Growth, Competitiveness, and facilitate the scaling up of Smaller Platforms, SMEs, and Start-Ups.

The Responsibilities of Users, Platforms, and Public Authorities, are Rebalanced according to European Values, placing Citizens at the center.

The Rules

- Better protect consumers and their fundamental rights online.
- Establish a powerful transparency and a clear accountability framework for online platforms.
- Foster innovation, growth and competitiveness within the single market.

For Citizens

- More choice, lower prices.
- Less exposure to illegal content.
- Better protection of fundamental rights.
- digital service providers.

For Providers of Digital Services

- Legal certainty, harmonisation of rules.
- Easier to start-up and scale-up in Europe.

For Business Users of Digital Services

- More choice, lower prices.
- Access to EU-wide markets through platforms.
- Level-playing field against providers of illegal content.

For Society at Large

- Greater democratic control and oversight over systemic platforms.
- Mitigation of systemic risks, such as manipulation or disinformation.

Which Providers are Covered

The Digital Services Act includes rules for online intermediary services, which millions of Europeans use every day. The obligations of different online players match their role, size and impact in the online ecosystem. Intermediary services offering network infrastructure: Internet access providers, domain name registrars, including:

- Hosting services such as cloud and webhosting services.

- Online platforms bringing together sellers and consumers such as online marketplaces, app stores, collaborative economy platforms and social media platforms.

- Very large online platforms pose particular risks in the dissemination of illegal content and societal harms. Specific rules are foreseen for platforms reaching more than 10% of 450 million consumers in Europe.

- All online intermediaries offering their services in the single market, whether they are established in the EU or outside, will have to comply with the new rules. Micro and small companies will have obligations proportionate to their ability and size while ensuring they remain accountable.










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