New EU rules to enhance Online Safety coming into force

Fine Gael MEP for Ireland South, Deirdre Clune has welcomed new EU rules designed to curb potentially harmful practices carried out through online service providers and large social media platforms such as Amazon, TikTok and Facebook.

MEP Clune, a Member of the European Parliament’s Internal Market & Consumer Protection Committee said, “on the 25th August, the EU Digital Services Act (DSA) will come into force, compelling large internet service providers and social media companies to open up their systems to EU scrutiny and prove that they’re taking significant steps to ensure they are protecting users online.

“These new rules will empower consumers by giving them the right to opt-out from recommendation systems based on profiling, while online platforms will be obliged to label all ads and inform users on who is promoting them”, MEP Clune added.

By the end of this month, digital platforms with over 45 million users in the European Union will have to comply with the new rules.

“These changes will greatly enhance digital transparency and accountability and the DSA is a welcome move towards harmonizing standards for online service providers across Europe.The first practical test for online service providers and social media companies will be to submit an annual assessment of the major impact of their design, algorithms, advertising and terms of services on a range of societal issues. The coming into force of the DSA marks a major milestone in placing stronger safeguards for these online players in terms of risk management, tackling disinformation, transparency and content moderation”, MEP Clune concluded.