On Apr. 23, the European Union approved the new legislation that would pressure massive tech companies like Google, Meta, and Twitter to enforce illegal content on their respective platforms or potentially risk paying billions in fines.
EU Passes New Legislation for Tech Companies
After 16 hours of negotiation, the EU finally reached a deal on Apr. 23 in Brussels on the Digital Services Act or DSA, according to USA Today.
This is a landmark law requiring companies to police their content and take down anything deemed harmful or illegal.
EU President Ursula von der Leyen said that the new EU legislation would protect users online from harmful content.
What is illegal offline will be illegal online in the EU, and this serves as a strong signal for people, businesses, and countries worldwide.
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The vote comes a year after the EU presented the Digital Services Act or DSA and the Digital Markets Act or the DMA, which the EU approved in March to the European Parliament, according to CNBC.
The DMA seeks to curb the marketing power of massive tech companies. The EU said that the legislation is the first to target digital regulation.
The EU said that the legislation aims to protect the digital space against the spread of illegal content and protect users' fundamental rights. Platforms with more than 45 million monthly users in the EU are subjected to the law.
Targeting with Online Ads
A critical part of the EU law would limit how tech companies target their users with online ads. The DSA would stop the platforms from targeting users with algorithms using data based on their race, gender, or religion.
Also, targeting children with ads will be prohibited. The new law will also impact popular content platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok, according to SCMP.
The change also comes as lawmakers in the United States are still grappling with how to make tech companies do better with curbing harmful content.
The EU law was met with praise in the United States. Jim Steyer, the CEO of the San Francisco-based Common Sense Media, said that the passing of the legislation is a massive moment for tech policy around the world.
Steyer also said that the law is a monumental moment in the global fight to protect children and their families from online harm caused by unregulated social media platforms.
Steyer added that European lawmakers had taken a massive step towards making the internet safer for children and teenagers. He said that lawmakers in the United States "need to look in the mirror and act swiftly to protect children and the country's democratic future."
Former US Secretary of State and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton encouraged the EU to get a deal done and said that tech platforms have amplified disinformation and extremism with no accountability at all.
Former US President Barack Obama told an audience at Stanford University that the tech companies need more regulation to stop the spread of online disinformation that is putting the country at risk.
In February 2021, the EU claimed that TikTok failed to protect its young users.
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This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Sophie Webster
