Internet companies should step up their efforts to keep harmful material off their platforms and take other steps under rules voted on by MEPs on Thursday.
The EU has gained a reputation for setting trends in the global effort to control big tech companies as they face criticism over issues such as misinformation, hate speech and other types of harmful content on their platforms.
Here's a look at the proposed EU rules (Law on Digital Services) and how they would affect things.
What is the Digital Services Law (Digital Services Act); and;
The law is part of a sweeping overhaul of the EU's «digital» rules to ensure that the online companies, including technology giants such as Google and the Meta (Facebook) protect users on their platforms and treat their competitors fairly. This is an update of the relevant EU directive on e-commerce, which is now two decades old.
«The Digital Services Act could now become the new gold standard for digital regulations, not only in Europe but also around the world,» said Christel Saldemose, lead MEP on the bill, during a consultation on Wednesday. «The countries of Big Tech, such as the US or China, are watching to see what we agree on.».
These proposals are half of the digital regulations the EU is drafting. MEPs are also working on the Digital Marketplaces Act, which aims to put limits on the power of the largest online «gatekeepers». In both cases, further negotiations with EU member states will take place before they enter into force.
Similar efforts are underway in the US, but there is a deep divide between Republicans who criticise the platforms for censoring their views and Democrats who accuse them of failing to take action.
What will it cover?;
The Digital Services Act includes a number of measures to better protect Internet users and their «fundamental rights". online». Tech companies will be held more accountable for the content on their platforms, with requirements to strengthen the flagging and removal of illegal content, such as hate speech or controversial goods and services offered online.
However, there are disagreements over the details, including whether court orders will be needed.
The online platforms should be more transparent about their algorithms that recommend the next video to watch, product to sell or news item at the top of the social media feeds their. The so-called recommender systems have been accused of leading users to increasingly extreme or polarising content.
There are also measures to ban the use of «dark patterns»- misleading techniques to induce users to do things they don't intend to do, and to force pornographic websites to record the identities of users who upload material.
Are there any controversial points?;
One of the biggest «battles» on the issue is over the so-called surveillance-based advertising, also known as targeted or behavioural advertising. Such ads would be banned for children, but not completely. This idea faced stiff resistance from the digital advertising industry, which is dominated by Google and the Meta. MEPs instead proposed a ban on the use of sensitive data for advertising.
The surveillance ads Watch online behaviours, such as the pages someone has visited or the products they have bought online, to show more digital ads based on these interests. Organizations like Amnesty International say that the ad tracking undermines rights that the legislation is supposed to protect, because it involves a massive invasion of privacy and indiscriminate data collection in the context of a system that manipulates users and encourages fraud through advertising.
What happens to offenders?;
Thierry Breton, Internal Market Commissioner, wrote to Twitter on Wednesday to present the proposed rules as the start of a new era of strict enforcement online.
«It is time to bring some order to the digital ‘Wild West’,» he said. «A new sheriff has come to town, and he goes by the name DSA», he noted, posting a video of a spaghetti western with Clint Eastwood.
Under the Digital Services Act, infringements will be punishable by heavy fines of up to 6% of a company's annual revenue.
