Opening the magic box of algorithms and going further to have more transparency on profiling and the functioning of platforms: the Digital Service Act , approved by the European Parliament in July 2022, definitively entered into force on February 17, affecting not only the dominant players in the market (read, Meta, Google, TikTok, YouTube, Bing, Pinterest, to name a few), but also all small businesses with less than 45 million monthly active users and, in general, all intermediary subjects of the network such as cloud and hosting providers, search engines, e-commerce and online services.
Accountability and protection of online users through the mitigation of “systemic risks” and the application of “robust content moderation tools” : the regulatory framework of the Digital Services Act is once again structured oman mobile database around the concepts of transparency , information and, above all, accountability .
The Digital Service Act was created with the main objective of enabling better moderation of content on platforms, particularly social media.
In addition, the legislation introduces a wide range of new obligations for platforms, some of which aim to disclose to regulators how their algorithms work .
Indeed, the DSA introduces certain limitations such as, for example, the obligation of transparency regarding the data collected, that of informing the user about the moderation of content, without forgetting that of providing the possibility not to receive suggestions based on profiling, to name a few.
These obligations are part of a more complex framework of objectives ranging from Protection of consumer rights by Controlling the dissemination of illegal content , to those related to the Possibility of offering consumers a greater choice of digital services and establishing a clear regulatory framework in the area of transparency and responsibility of online platforms.
All this translates into the possibility for users of the platforms to receive clear information about the data collected , as well as the right to refuse the content and the methods of personalization of the same based on profiling.
Another aspect that should not be underestimated is also that related to advertisements, which can no longer be based on sensitive data.
The information on advertisements and on the promoting companies is then accompanied by the platforms that provide advertising content, which are asked to be able to process reports of illegal content through a special mechanism.
Rules and regulations, but not only: it should be noted that since 17 February a pan-European surveillance architecture has definitely been active which, although falling under the Commission, the only competent authority for the surveillance of platforms and search engines, will in fact work in close collaboration with national authorities.
The world of technology is changing rapidly, institutions and regulators are trying to keep up, but finding the right balance is often difficult in the face of layered and complex regulations.
The increasingly crucial objective remains that of personal data protection and the challenge is increasingly being played out on the thin line between data protection and innovation in the name of personalization .