Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1437264
14 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 15 DECEMBER 2021 NEWS These articles are part of a content series called Ewropej. This is a multi-newsroom initiative part-funded by the European Parliament to bring the work of the EP closer to the citizens of Malta and keep them informed about matters that affect their daily lives. These articles reflect only the authors' view. The European Parliament is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains. SEBASTIAN VASSALLO MEPS have vowed to put an end to the 'digital Wild West' of large platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Amazon, with a package of rules designed to regulate the online space. MEPs from all the European Parliament's political groupings took the first step in shaping the collective digital future of the European Union, by voting in favour of a draft Digital Services Act. "We have come together to put an end to the digital wild west where the big platforms are set- ting the rules right now and we have too much criminal content going viral," shadow rapporteur Arba Kokalari (EPP) said. The draft DSA rules were ap- proved by the internal market and consumer protection com- mittee (IMCO) with 36 votes in favour, seven votes against and two abstentions. The EP's ple- nary will vote on the amended DSA proposal in January 2022 – if approved, negotiations then start with the French presidency of the European Council. The DSA aims at addressing a large part of modern daily life including how people purchase goods and services, commu- nicate, access information or interact in social networks. It updates the rules that govern digital services through innova- tion and the provision of legal certainty. Key elements of the proposal are the new rules on liability for online intermediation services (platforms), 'notice and action' measures to remove content, and updated rules governing e-commerce or targeted adver- tisement. MEPs included stronger safe- guards to ensure the non-arbi- trary and non-discriminatory processing of notices and respect for fundamental rights, includ- ing the freedom of expression. The rapporteur for this draft, Christel Schaldemose (S&D) said: "We are now democrati- cally reclaiming our online en- vironment. The DSA is bringing EU tech regulation into the 21st century and it is about time. In- termediary services shape our lives – from the way we meet our significant other, where we buy our Christmas presents to how we read the news. "However, the online environ- ment's growing influence in our lives is not only for the better: al- gorithms challenge our democ- racies by disseminating hatred and division, tech giants chal- lenge our level playing field, and online marketplaces challenge our consumer protection stand- ards and product safety. This has to stop. For this reason, we are building a new framework, so that what is illegal offline is also illegal online." The DSA will also give a clear definition of the responsibility and accountability rules for pro- viders of intermediary services and online platforms, such as so- cial media and marketplaces. Very large online platforms (VLOPs) will be subject to spe- cific obligations due to the par- ticular risks they pose in the dissemination of both illegal and harmful content. The DSA includes measures to tackle the proliferation of il- legal goods, services or content online. Simultaneously the rules should enhance the accountabil- ity and transparency of the algo- rithms used by these very large online platforms. The draft law contains pro- visions on risk assessments, risk mitigation measures, inde- pendent audits and so-called "recommender systems" – the algorithms that determine what users see. MEPs beefed up provisions to make sure online platforms like Facebook are transparent about the way these algorithms work and to make them more ac- countable for the decisions they take. This also helps to tackle harmful content, which might not be illegal, and the spread of disinformation. The DSA exempts micro and small enterprises from huge da- ta processing requirements, and prohibits online platforms from using deceiving or nudging tech- niques to influence users' behav- iour through "dark patterns". MEPs vow to end 'digital Wild West' of social media platforms MEPs head into 2022 with package of laws that will put curbs on targeted ads and algorithms from large social media platforms The online environment's growing influence in our lives is not only for the better: algorithms challenge our democracies by disseminating hatred and division, tech giants challenge our level playing field, and online marketplaces challenge our consumer protection standards and product safety. This has to stop. For this reason, we are building a new framework, so that what is illegal offline is also illegal online Christel Schaldemose (S&D, Denmark) Leading MEP on the Digital Services Act Christel Schaldemose (S&D, Denmark)