The uncontrolled power of US big tech firms has finally met its match in the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA).
The law was promulgated last year and went into effect on August 25 2023. History will show this is when the Old World took back its power from the New World, so to speak. For the past two decades Google, Facebook, Amazon, Apple and X (formerly Twitter) have owned — or pwned (look it up) — the internet, social media, adverting and e-commerce.
No longer.
Big tech is shaking in its boots — the way Gwede Mantashe would be if he could understand that history will judge him for the obstructionist he is.
“We’re bringing our European values into the digital world,” tweeted European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. “With strict rules on transparency and accountability, our Digital Services Act aims to protect our children, societies and democracies.”
“Very large online platforms”, as the EU is defining the social media giants or any with more than 45-million users, “must apply the new law”, she said.
In short, it’s the end of the beginning of Europe’s war on surveillance capitalism against US tech firms
The DSA covers a lot of ground previously left to the self-policing of tech firms (as if that was ever going to work) by the more lenient US agencies. These include:
- Mitigating “disinformation or election manipulation, cyberviolence against women, or harms to minors online”;
- Measures to counter illegal content online, including illegal goods and services;
- “New rules to trace sellers on online market places” and an obligation to “randomly check against existing databases” for counterfeit goods;
- Wide-ranging transparency measures and transparency on the algorithms used for recommending content or products;
- New “obligations for the protection of minors on any platform in the EU”;
- Bans on “targeted advertising by profiling children” or using “personal data such as ethnicity, political views or sexual orientation”;
- A ban on using so-called dark patterns, referring to misleading tricks that “manipulate users into choices they do not intend to make”.
In short, it’s the end of the beginning of Europe’s war on surveillance capitalism against US tech firms. The fine for breaching these rules could be as high as 6% of global turnover.
The platforms affected include Google Search, Maps, Shopping, YouTube and the Play app store; Apple’s App Store; Facebook; Instagram; Alibaba’s AliExpress; Booking.com; LinkedIn; Pinterest; Snapchat; TikTok; X; Wikipedia; and Microsoft’s Bing.
German online retailer Zalando has already sued the EU, after it was categorised as a “very large online platform” (time to learn a new acronym: VLOP) as it has more than 45-million users. Shame.
Expect the same of US big tech companies, which will cry foul because, whatever. They made billions of dollars in profit before anyone realised they were, er, overstating their abilities — except, arguably, for overturning democracies (see Brexit and the 2016 US presidential election).
“I think if you want to be a legislator, you also need to accept that someone will challenge legislation,” EU antitrust boss Margrethe Vestager told Reuters.
If only South Africa’s dysfunctional government had this type of clear-headed policy vision and the willingness to tackle this global problem. After it gets the electricity going for 24 hours a day, maybe. Don’t hold your breath.
*Shapshak is editor-in-chief of Stuff.co.za and executive director of Scrolla.Africa
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