The European Union has reached an agreement to pass the Digital Services Act (DSA), which aims to increase tech giants’ responsibility for recommendation algorithms and targeted advertising.

today’s deal #DSA is historical.

Our new rules will protect users online, provide freedom of expression and opportunities for businesses.

What is illegal offline will be de facto illegal online in the EU.

A strong signal for people, businesses and countries around the world.

— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderlenen) 23 April 2022

The final text of the law has not yet been published, but the European Commission has revealed important details.

DSA pays most attention to major platforms with at least 45 million users in the EU. This group includes companies such as Meta and Google.

The document prohibits targeted advertising based on religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity or political affiliation. Companies also cannot serve personalized ads to minors.

Online platforms such as Facebook will need to disclose information to users regarding the operation of content display systems. They should offer alternative “non-profiling” systems. This means that major social networks will return chronological methods for displaying content.

Some tech giants will need to share “key” data with experienced researchers and nonprofits before they can assess the “evolution of online risk.”

A company that does not comply with the rules can be fined up to 6% of its global turnover.

According to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the agreement reached is historic in terms of speed and content.

“This ensures freedom of expression and opportunities for digital business by ensuring that the online environment remains a safe space,” he said.

Google supported the bill and expressed their readiness to take part in the development of the final text.

“We applaud DSA’s goals to make the internet more secure, transparent and accountable, and to ensure that European users, creators and businesses continue to benefit from an open network,” the company said.

The bill will enter into force 15 months after the vote, but no later than January 1, 2024.

Previously, the European Parliament passed an initial bill to ban certain types of personalized advertising.

Recall that in January China approved the rules for organizing recommendation algorithms. The changes took effect on March 1, 2021.

That same month, the United States recommended banning targeted online advertising.

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