The European Commission on Tuesday released a list of 17 Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs) and 2 Very Large Online Search Engines (VLOSEs) that will need to comply with tough new privacy and content moderation tools under the European Union’s Digital Services Act. Under the DSA, which the European Union adopted in October, the designated platforms will now have 4 months to comply.
Among the requirements:
- Users will get clear information on why they are recommended certain information and will have the right to opt-out from recommendation systems based on profiling;
- Users will be able to report illegal content easily and platforms have to process such reports diligently;
- Advertisements cannot be displayed based on the sensitive data of the user (such as ethnic origin, political opinions or sexual orientation);
- Platforms need to label all ads and inform users on who is promoting them;
- Platforms and search engines need to take measures to address risks linked to the dissemination of illegal content online and to negative effects on freedom of expression and information;
- Platforms need to have clear terms and conditions and enforce them diligently and non-arbitrarily;
- Platforms need to have a mechanism for users to flag illegal content and act upon notifications expeditiously;
- Platforms need to analyse their specific risks, and put in place mitigation measures – for instance, to address the spread of disinformation and inauthentic use of their service.
The designated platforms each reach at least 45 million users within the EU, the threshold above which the new rules apply. Smaller platforms must comply with less stringent privacy and content moderation requirements.
The Very Large Online Platforms:
- Alibaba AliExpress
- Amazon Store
- Apple AppStore
- Booking.com
- Google Play
- Google Maps
- Google Shopping
- Snapchat
- TikTok
- Wikipedia
- YouTube
- Zalando
The Very Large Online Search Engines:
- Bing
- Google Search
In addition to implementing the new requirements, the Commission recently launched a new regulatory agency to enforce compliance with the rules. The European Centre for Algorithmic Transparency (ECAT) will provide assessments as to whether the functioning of algorithmic systems is in line with the risk management obligations.