EU agrees rules to force big tech to rein in illegal content or face huge fines

Under a new European Union regulatory system approved on Saturday, large online platforms such as Facebook, Google, and Twitter will have to do more to combat unlawful content or risk multibillion-euro fines.

For breaking the restrictions, the broad Digital Services Act (DSA) can fine a company up to 6% of its global revenue – or $7 billion (£5.9 billion) in the case of Facebook's owner – and recurrent violations can result in a tech firm being barred from doing business in the EU.

The new rules, which take effect in 2024, include the following:

• Advertising directed at children or based on sensitive information such as religion, gender, race, or political beliefs is prohibited.
• Providing EU governments with the ability to request the removal of illegal materials, such as material that supports terrorism, child sexual abuse, hate speech, and commercial frauds.
• Requiring social media sites to allow users to flag illegal content in a "simple and effective" manner so that it can be removed quickly
• For dubious products, such as counterfeit footwear or dangerous toys, online marketplaces like Amazon will need similar mechanisms.

The DSA was drafted against the backdrop of global political and regulatory activity against online platforms. The UK is considering an online safety measure that would impose a duty of care on internet companies to protect consumers from hazardous content, while the US Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission have filed antitrust complaints against Google and Facebook.

After more than 16 hours of negotiations between EU member states, the EU's executive arm, and EU MPs, an agreement was reached in the early hours of Saturday. The DSA is the second part of EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager's effort to reign in US tech powerhouses.

She secured approval from the EU parliament and the 27-country bloc last month for the Digital Markets Act, which could force Google, Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Microsoft to adjust their key business practices in Europe.

"We've struck a deal on the DSA: the Digital Services Act will ensure that what is illegal offline is equally perceived and treated as illegal online - not as a slogan, but as reality," Vestager said in a tweet.

"With the DSA, the time of huge internet platforms behaving like they are too big to care is coming to an end," EU internal market commissioner Thierry Breton said.

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