Technology companies such as Google, Facebook and Netflix must follow new rules from the European Union (EU) regarding the Digital Services Act (DSA). Through this new rule, technology companies must reveal the secret, namely the way their algorithms work, to users and researchers.
They also have to apply stricter rules against the spread of hoaxes. If these companies refuse to comply with the rules, they will be subject to hefty fines, which are up to 6% of annual turnover.
“DSA will improve the ground rules for all online services in the European Union. These rules have a practical impact on what is illegal offline, so it must be illegal online too,” said EU President Ursula von der Leyen, quoted by The Verge, Sunday (1 / 1) 5/2022).
Although this rule only applies to EU citizens, the impact of this rule will also be felt in other parts of the world. Global technology companies may decide to apply the same rules to save costs.
The full rules have not been disclosed to the public, but one of the points that will be regulated is that large platforms such as Facebook must explain how their algorithms work to the public. For example, how they sort the content displayed in the News Feed.
Like Netflix for example. This will be related to how they manage certain impressions for their users.
Users are also entitled to a recommendation system that is not based on profiling, or based on their previous search records. Then the platform must also provide researchers with important data to provide more information regarding the evolution of risk in cyberspace.
