The Digital Services Act (DSA), the new EU legislation governing online content moderation, is set to bring sweeping changes to social media. Elon Musk’s Twitter Inc. is expected to be among the first to face the stricter rules.
Under the DSA, tech companies of all sizes, including Twitter, will be required to comply with the DSA’s fundamental rules and take down illegal content in all of the EU’s 27 countries. Twitter is deemed large enough to qualify as a “very large online platform” and, as such, will have to report cases and plan on reducing harmful posts. European Commission may also be forced to change its algorithms.
This will bring substantial changes to how Twitter has traditionally handled content moderation. It could put the company at serious risk of hefty fines or even a ban from operating in Europe if it fails to comply with the new rules. To avoid such penalties, Twitter must actively monitor and moderate its platform, removing illegal and inflammatory content faster and more effectively than ever before.
The DSA brings new challenges for social media companies, with Twitter being one of the most notable. As a platform that’s influential on a global scale, how Twitter responds to these new rules will be closely watched by the rest of the tech industry. If the company can meet the demands of the DSA without sacrificing user freedom and its founding principles, it will set a precedent for other companies to follow.