Digital Services Act: how Europe protects us online
22 September 2025 | The European Commission provided updated information on how the Digital Services Act (DSA) is improving our online lives.
What is the Digital Services Act?
The Digital Services Act (DSA) regulates online services, including social media platforms, marketplaces, app stores and booking portals. It covers platforms such as Shein, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, LinkedIn and Booking.com.
The main objective of the DSA is to create a safer digital space where your fundamental rights are protected.
How the DSA improves your online experience
The Digital Services Act gives users unprecedented control over their online environment. Platforms must now explain why they remove or suspend your content or account. They can no longer restrict the visibility of your content without notifying you.
If you disagree with a platform's decision, you can challenge it through the platform's internal system or by using an out-of-court dispute settlement body. These bodies help resolve disputes with platforms more quickly and affordably than going to court.
Large platforms with more than 45 million users in the EU must now offer non-personalised feeds. This allows you to decide whether to see content based on algorithmic recommendations or other criteria, such as chronological order. This helps you avoid addictive content and ensures that you only see content you want to engage with.
The DSA established transparency requirements for advertising, ensuring that ads are clearly labelled and include information about who placed them and why you are seeing them. It also prohibits platforms from showing you ads based on sensitive data, such as data on sexual orientation, religion or race, and imposes a complete ban on targeted advertising to children.
Dark patterns, or deceptive practices that may lead you to make choices you otherwise would not make, are explicitly prohibited. For example, when purchasing additional services for a flight, you may see a huge “yes” button, while the “no” option is barely noticeable. Platforms must now ensure that both options are equally visible and accessible.
Marketplaces must verify who the sellers are and display their contact details so that you have clear information about who you are purchasing goods or services from.
How the DSA is enforced
The DSA entered into force in August 2023 for very large online platforms (VLOPs) and very large online search engines (VLOSEs) with more than 45 million monthly users in the EU. Since February 2024, it has applied to all other platforms in the European Union, except micro and small enterprises.
Enforcement of the DSA is shared by national authorities and the European Commission. National authorities, known as Digital Services Coordinators, monitor and enforce compliance with the DSA in their Member States. If you wish to lodge a complaint about a breach of the DSA, you can contact the Digital Services Coordinator in your Member State.
The Commission is the only authority responsible for ensuring that large platforms comply with the strictest rules, given the significant risks posed in the EU by their high number of users. The Commission maintains continuous contact with these platforms to support and monitor their compliance with the DSA rules and work together to create a safer online environment.
If the Commission suspects a breach of the DSA based on its own monitoring or information from reliable sources, including citizens, it may launch investigations and request information, conduct interviews and inspect premises.
Recent investigations under the DSA
The Commission has already opened several investigations into major platforms to verify their compliance with the DSA. In some cases, these have already led to significant changes.
TikTok introduced a rewards program in 2024, but later withdrew it after the EU launched an investigation into its potentially addictive design, particularly for children.
AliExpress is still under investigation for failing to adequately assess and mitigate the spread of harmful and illegal products. However, the platform has made several commitments to comply with the DSA, including increasing the transparency of its advertising and recommendation systems and improving its mechanism for flagging illegal content.
Other investigations are ongoing. For example, the EU suspects that Temu does not adequately assess and mitigate the risks associated with the sale of illegal products, the potentially addictive design of the service, the recommendation systems used for purchases, and researchers’ access to data.
The EU is investigating Facebook and Instagram for failing to adequately implement DSA rules to protect minors online. In particular, the EU is investigating whether the features and algorithms of both platforms may encourage addictive behaviour in children and lead them down endless content pathways known as the “rabbit hole effect”.
Large platforms that do not comply with the DSA may be fined up to 6% of their global annual turnover and must take corrective measures. The Commission will continue to monitor platforms’ compliance and take action where necessary.
What this means for users
The DSA is a revolution in European citizens' digital rights. For the first time, large technology companies bear real responsibility for the safety of users, especially children.
The main benefits include greater control over your digital experience, protection against manipulative practices, transparency in advertising and algorithms, a rapid response to violations and special protection for children.
Like the GDPR, the DSA is becoming a global standard. Other countries are studying Europe's experience to develop their own digital legislation.
Summary
The Digital Services Act is not merely regulation, but the beginning of a new era of digital rights. The EU shows that tech giants can and must take responsibility for creating a safe and fair digital space.
For users, this means more control, transparency, and protection in the online world. For businesses, it means new standards of responsibility and ethics.
The DSA is the future of the internet, where users' rights are paramount.
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
