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

theguardian.com:

Large online platforms including Facebook, Google and Twitter will have to do more to tackle illegal content or face multibillion euro fines under a new European Union regulatory regime agreed on Saturday.

The wide-ranging Digital Services Act (DSA) can fine a company up to 6% of its global turnover for violating the rules – which would be $7bn (£5.9bn) in the case of Facebook’s owner – while repeated breaches could result in a tech firm being banned from doing business in the EU.

The new rules, which come into force in 2024, include:

Banning advertising aimed at children or based on sensitive data such as religion, gender, race and political opinions.

Allowing EU governments to request removal of illegal content, including material that promotes terrorism, child sexual abuse, hate speech and commercial scams.

Forcing social media platforms to allow users to flag illegal content in an “easy and effective way” so that it can be swiftly removed.

Online marketplaces like Amazon will need similar systems for suspect products, such as counterfeit sneakers or unsafe toys.

The DSA has been drawn up against a backdrop of political and regulatory action against online platforms around the world. The UK is introducing the online safety bill, which imposes a duty of care on tech firms to shelter users from harmful content, while in the US, the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission has filed antitrust actions against Google and Facebook.

The agreement in the early hours of Saturday came after more than 16 hours of negotiations between EU member states, the EU’s executive arm and EU parliamentarians. The DSA is the second prong of a plan by the EU antitrust chief, Margrethe Vestager, to rein in the US tech giants.

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