Critical Overview:
The European Union has approved a law that would allow authorities to impose a state of emergency on social media sites, search engines, and online marketplaces. This “crisis mechanism” is part of a new set of rules called the Digital Services Act, which aims to make the internet safer by giving European authorities significant influence over major tech platforms such as Facebook, TikTok, and Amazon. This move was prompted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and aims to give authorities in the bloc more power to regulate tech platforms during pandemics and wars.
The new rules also give European authorities new powers to force tech platforms to be more transparent about how their algorithms work, remove more content or products defined as “illegal,” and restrict advertising based on sensitive information such as race, sexual orientation, or political affiliation. The rules will also ban dark patterns and advertising targeted at children, with fines for platforms that don’t comply reaching as high as 6 percent of global turnover. The European Commission will be in charge of enforcement, effectively ending the current system where Ireland is the only regulator able to enforce the rules.
However, the crisis mechanism has been controversial, with critics arguing that it concentrates too much power in the hands of the European Commission. While tech platforms played a significant role in shaping the public’s response to both the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine, critics argue that Facebook should not be making important decisions about the global information space alone. The new regulation’s language and technical details have yet to be finalized, and there is still uncertainty about what powers the Commission will have over tech platforms in times of crisis.
New Powers for European Authorities:
The Digital Services Act, which aims to make the internet safer, will give European authorities significant influence over major tech platforms such as Facebook, TikTok, and Amazon. This move was prompted by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and aims to give authorities in the bloc more power to regulate tech platforms during pandemics and wars. The landmark rules will also give European authorities new powers to force tech platforms to be more transparent about how their algorithms work, remove more content or products defined as “illegal,” and restrict advertising based on sensitive information such as race, sexual orientation, or political affiliation. The rules will also ban dark patterns and advertising targeted at children, with fines for platforms that don’t comply reaching as high as 6 percent of global turnover.
The crisis mechanism was among the most controversial parts of the new rules. While there has been no law in Europe enabling authorities to intervene in platforms’ policies when the bloc faces threats to public health or security, critics are concerned that it concentrates too much power in the hands of the European Commission. Although European lawmakers have reached a political agreement on the digital services act, the regulation’s language and technical details have yet to be finalized, and there is still uncertainty about what powers the Commission will have over tech platforms in times of crisis. Critics argue that Facebook should not be making important decisions about the global information space alone.
European authorities will now have more power to regulate tech platforms such as Facebook, TikTok, and Amazon with the introduction of a new set of rules called the Digital Services Act. A “crisis mechanism” has been included, which allows the authorities to impose a state of emergency on social media sites, search engines, and online marketplaces in times of crisis such as pandemics and wars. The new regulation aims to make the internet safer by forcing tech platforms to be more transparent about how their algorithms work, removing content or products defined as “illegal,” and restricting advertising based on sensitive information such as race, sexual orientation, or political affiliation. Fines for platforms that fail to comply with the new rules could reach as high as 6% of their global turnover. The European Commission will be responsible for enforcing the new rules and will end the current system in which only Ireland is able to regulate the tech platforms.
The Crisis Mechanism Controversy:
Although the new regulation aims to make the internet safer, the crisis mechanism has been a controversial addition. Critics are concerned that this mechanism places too much power in the hands of the European Commission. Facebook and other tech platforms have played a significant role in shaping public response during pandemics and wars. Some argue that Facebook alone should not be making important decisions about the global information space. Critics are worried that the European executive, a political body under pressure from member states, may be the sole institution to decide which content is “illegal” during a crisis situation.
Uncertainty Surrounding the New Regulation:
The new regulation’s language and technical details have yet to be finalized, leaving a great deal of uncertainty about the powers the European Commission will have over tech platforms during times of crisis. However, the text agreed upon in negotiations suggests that the Commission could recommend changes to the terms of service of tech platforms such as Facebook and TikTok, and to the way platforms moderate or rank content. The Commission could also force platforms to put government-approved information at the top of search results. Despite the new regulation’s uncertainty, it is a significant step towards making the internet safer for all.
Conclusion:
The introduction of the Digital Services Act marks a significant milestone in internet regulation. The new regulation gives European authorities significant power over major tech platforms such as Facebook, TikTok, and Amazon. The crisis mechanism, which allows the authorities to impose a state of emergency on social media sites, search engines, and online marketplaces, has been a controversial addition. Critics argue that the mechanism places too much power in the hands of the European Commission. However, the new regulation aims to make the internet safer by forcing tech platforms to be more transparent about their algorithms, removing illegal content and products, and restricting advertising based on sensitive information.
