EU Nails Down Content Rules of Digital Services Act

The final details of the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA) regarding content are being nailed down and could be decided as early as Friday (April 22). They are expected to go into effect in 2024. The proposed legislation could end up costing tech firms billions in fines if laws are breached.

Big Tech firms could pay as much as 6% of their global annual sales for future noncompliance with the DSA. Amazon, for example, could pay a maximum fine of $28 billion for failure to comply in the future with the DSA, Bloomberg reported Friday (April 22).

See also: EU Could Unveil Digital Services Act on Friday, But Not a Done Deal

Central mandates on the table concerning content include banning sensitive data, such as race or religion in ad targeting; banning ads targeting minors; banning tactics that encourage people to consent to online tracking; and more.

While all websites will have to abide by the DSA’s rules, platforms with users topping 45 million will have stricter mandates. Some of those more strident laws include a 0.1% supervisory payment of global annual revenue to enforce the law and giving regulators annual reports regarding illegal and harmful content on their sites.

The DSA and its complementary Digital Markets Act (DMA) are both aimed at creating a safe digital environment that protects users’ fundamental rights and levels the playing field for the participation of all businesses. The DMA targets Big Tech while the DSA sets the standards for all websites.

Read more: EU Content Moderation Rules May Soon Apply to Big Tech

DSA fines are in addition to penalties applicable under the DMA, which can fine tech firms as much as 10% of their global annual sales for an initial breach. Repeat offenders could be prevented from engaging in mergers and acquisitions (M&As).