The Digital Services Act (DSA) Observatory

The Digital Services Act (DSA) Observatory is a new project run by the Institute for Information Law (IViR) at the University of Amsterdam, which kicked-off in January 2021. The DSA Observatory acts as a hub of expertise with respect to the “Digital Services Act” package presented by the European Commission in December 2020.

The DSA Observatory provides independent scientific input during the DSA debate and to engage different stakeholders on the DSA proposals, in particular on the challenge of confronting platform power from a fundamental rights and democratic values perspective. To achieve these goals, the Observatory will bring together a broad network of platform regulation experts in academia and other relevant stakeholders, including civil society organisations, policymakers and regulators.

The DSA Observatory will closely follow the DSA process and generate regular outputs on relevant developments, including through dissemination activities, workshops and expert meetings.

NEWS

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ANALYSIS

The DSA’s Systemic Risk Framework: Taking Stock and Looking Ahead

By Magdalena Jóźwiak, DSA Observatory

Drawing on a March 2025 workshop hosted by the DSA Observatory, this post shares reflections from researchers and civil society experts engaging with the DSA’s systemic risk framework—examining legal foundations, enforcement challenges, and the role of the research community in shaping its development.

Workshop Report: Researchers on Data Access and Preparing for DSA Article 40(4)

By John Albert and Paddy Leerssen, DSA Observatory

Drawing on a March 2025 workshop hosted by the DSA Observatory, this post shares practical and strategic insights from researchers preparing to make use of Article 40(4), from scoping proposals and navigating compliance to building collective support structures.

Making Recommender Systems Work for People: Turning the DSA’s Potential into Practice

By Alissa Cooper and Peter Chapman, Knight-Georgetown Institute

The Digital Services Act sets out broad new legal requirements to make recommender systems more transparent and accountable, including for their role in systemic risks. To fulfill that promise, implementation must go beyond basic disclosures and defaults; it must shape how these systems are designed and assessed over time. A new report from the Knight-Georgetown Institute and its accompanying EU Policy Brief offer a practical roadmap for putting these goals into action — and putting people first.

Expert insights: Fundamental rights in DSA dispute resolution procedures

By John Albert, DSA Observatory

Despite claims that it is “institutionalizing censorship,” the DSA is designed to protect fundamental rights, including freedom of expression. One key example is its provision allowing EU users to challenge platforms’ content moderation decisions through out-of-court dispute settlement (ODS) proceedings—a topic explored in depth at a recent workshop hosted by the DSA Observatory and the Article 21 Academic Advisory Board.

EVENTS

The Digital Services Act Observatory at the Amsterdam Law School will be hosting events on a variety of topics which are relevant to the DSA discussion and process. Information on these events will be posted here.

Please get in touch if you would like to share your ideas for a DSA-related event or discuss your research at one of our events.

ABOUT

The DSA Observatory

The Digital Services Act (DSA) Observatory is a new project run by the Institute for Information Law (IViR) at the University of Amsterdam, which kicked-off in January 2021. The DSA Observatory acts as a hub of expertise with respect to the “Digital Services Act” package presented by the European Commission in December 2020.

Project team

The core project team for the DSA Observatory is composed of prof. Joris van Hoboken, Ilaria Buri, Paddy Leerssen, dr. Ronan Fahy, prof. Natali Helberger, prof. Martin Senftleben, dr. João Pedro Quintais and Doris Bujis.

Funding and collaboration with the Digital Legal Lab

The DSA Observatory is part of the “Digital Transformations of Decision-Making” research initiative of the Amsterdam Law School and contributes to the activities of the Digital Legal Lab, an interuniversity research centre on law and digital technologies run by a research network between four Dutch universities: Tilburg University, the University of Amsterdam, Radboud University Nijmegen and Maastricht University. This joint research initiative, the Digital Legal Studies Sector Plan for legal research is funded by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW). The DSA Observatory was launched thanks to the funding of the Open Society Foundations.

CONTACT

The DSA Observatory team can be reached by email at:

j.v.j.vanhoboken@uva.nl or i.buri@uva.nl

2021 © studiotennekes