European Union officials clinched the agreement in principle on the Digital Services Act after lengthy final negotiations that began Friday. The law will also force tech companies to make it easier for users to flag problems, ban online ads aimed at kids and empower regulators to punish noncompliance with billions in fines.
Highlights
- NEW: The Digital Services Act is one half of an overhaul for the 27-nation bloc’s digital rulebook.
- Big tech companies like Google and Facebook parent Meta will have to police their platforms more strictly to better protect European users from hate speech, disinformation and other harmful online content.
- The act will also force tech companies to make it easier for users to flag problems, ban online ads aimed at kids and empower regulators to punish noncompliance with billions in fines.
- The need to regulate Big Tech more effectively came into sharper focus after the 2016 U.S.
- presidential election, when Russia used social media platforms to try to influence voters, but the problems have worsened.