Article 17 Media Freedom Act & the Digital Services Act: aligned or alienated?

November 25, 2022/in Analysis

After almost two years, the DSA has entered into force. In the mean time, a new legislative proposal has been published by the Commission in September 2022: the Media Freedom Act (MFA). Both regulations caused a lot of debate, about – among other things – the so-called “media exemption”. This media exemption could give media a special position, as they would get prior notice from platforms before content moderation decisions. The exemption did not make it into the DSA, but the debate around the exemption has been revitalized with the newly proposed Article 17 MFA, which seems similar to the earlier discussed exemption. In this blog post, we will look into how the MFA tries to define “media service providers”, what Article 17 MFA actually entails and if the critical commenters calling Article 17 MFA the new media exemption can be justified. We will see that this discussion is a bit more complex, mainly due to the complicated interplay between the MFA and the Platform to Business (P2B) Regulation.

The Digital Services Act & the implications for the safety of journalists (Part 2)

October 27, 2022/in Analysis

In this second part of the blog post on the implications of the DSA on journalism, we look into the safety of journalists and other media actors. Online harassment of journalists is a widely-reported topic, but nevertheless still increasing problem. What DSA provisions are the most promising for ensuring and increasing that much-needed safe climate for journalism online? And what actors, beside online platforms, can play their part using some of the DSA provisions to benefit journalism?

Twitter Alludes to Implementing Article 40, DSA (Data Access & Scrutiny)

September 29, 2022/in Analysis

Twitter’s ‘Moderation Research Consortium’ now accepts applications by all interested researchers. DSA Observatory Researcher Pim ten Thije looks into the TMRC’s compliance with Article 40 of the Digital Services Act on data access and scrutiny. He recaps the DSA’s access obligations for researchers and governments and discusses what Twitter will need to change to be compliant.

Empirical research in Content Moderation and Access to Justice: do the remedies fit the harms?

September 27, 2022/in Analysis

The results of this empirical survey suggest that the available remedies in the Netherlands offer insufficient access to justice for the online harm people experience.

The Digital Services Act: Adoption, Entry into Force and Application Dates

September 12, 2022/in Analysis

DSA Observatory Researcher Pim ten Thije clarifies the DSA’s adoption, entry into force and application dates. When will the new far-reaching obligations apply to (very large) online platforms, when will national regulators be required to be in place, when will the European Commission assume its new regulatory powers, and when exactly will the DSA be the law of the European Union?