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Digital Services Act
Legislation

Digital Services Act

EU regulation requiring platforms to remove illegal content and be transparent.

Last refreshed: 13 April 2026

Key Question

Is the Digital Services Act actually working or are the platforms running rings around it?

Timeline for Digital Services Act

Common Questions
What is the EU Digital Services Act and what does it require?
The DSA requires platforms to remove illegal content, provide ad transparency, allow users to opt out of algorithmic recommendations, and conduct annual risk assessments for very large platforms with over 45 million EU users.Source: European Commission DSA summary
Which platforms are investigated under the Digital Services Act?
The Commission has opened formal proceedings against Meta (Facebook/Instagram), X (Twitter), TikTok, and AliExpress. Several cases concern algorithmic amplification of harmful content and inadequate moderation.Source: European Commission DSA enforcement tracker
How does the Digital Services Act differ from GDPR?
GDPR regulates how personal data is collected and processed. The DSA regulates what platforms do with content and how they moderate it. Both apply simultaneously to EU users.Source: European Commission digital regulation overview
Is X (Twitter) complying with the Digital Services Act?
The Commission opened formal proceedings against X in 2023 over content moderation failures. As of 2024, the investigation was ongoing, with the Commission citing inadequate staffing for content review.Source: European Commission X/Twitter DSA proceedings

Background

The Digital Services Act (DSA) entered into force in November 2022 and became fully applicable to very large online platforms and search engines (those with over 45 million EU monthly users) from February 2023. It requires platforms to conduct annual risk assessments, publish advertising repositories, give researchers data access, and remove illegal content swiftly. Enforcement of the DSA falls to the European Commission for the largest platforms and to member-state Digital Services Coordinators for others. The Commission's first formal DSA investigations, opened in 2024, targeted Meta's Facebook and Instagram, TikTok, and X (formerly Twitter) over suspected compliance failures — with X facing scrutiny over content moderation and transparency obligations that Brussels fines of €120m issued in 2025 under the related DMA reflected.