What's prohibited offline should be prohibited online - social media platforms reigned in as the EU's biggest-ever shake-up of digital regulation kicks in
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00:00 What is prohibited offline must be prohibited online.
00:04 That's the general thrust of the EU's biggest ever shake-up of online regulation.
00:08 The Digital Services Act came into force on Friday.
00:11 It's aimed at keeping users safe online and stopping the spread of hate speech or harmful content
00:16 that's either illegal or violates a platform's terms of service, such as a promotion of genocide or anorexia.
00:22 Social networks, search engines and marketplaces like Amazon and Google
00:26 will have to comply or face hefty fines, and users will have more control.
00:31 So specifically, users will now have more transparency on how content moderation decisions are made.
00:38 Users will have more choice regarding the content that they engage in.
00:42 So, for example, they can opt out of personalized advertising,
00:46 or they can determine that the content that they see is presented in a chronological order
00:50 rather than based on determinations of the recommender systems that are based on vast amounts of data collection.
00:58 There will be more mechanisms for complaints and mechanisms for redress for individual users.
01:03 For the time being, only the 19 largest companies, those with more than 45 million monthly users, are affected.
01:10 The others have until February to comply.
01:12 Not all of them are happy and some are pushing back, but for now, they'll have to play ball.
01:17 Some digital giants have already announced the measures they're putting in place to adapt to the new environment.
01:22 Let's talk about the users.
01:26 So, for example, we have seen several platforms coming forward in the last few days
01:31 to outline some of the measures that they will be adopting.
01:34 This includes Meta, for example, Google and Snapchat,
01:38 and TikTok in particular has also outlined some of the measures that they will be adopting,
01:43 including how they will increase their transparency and their accountability for users in the European Union
01:50 and, of course, how this will impact users more globally as well.
01:54 Interestingly, however, TikTok and the company formerly known as Twitter underwent stress tests earlier this summer,
02:01 in which the European Commission noted that much more work was actually needed
02:05 in order for both platforms to be compliant with the law.
02:09 Certain targeted advertisements, particularly those aimed at minors, are now prohibited,
02:14 as are those based on sensitive data such as sexual orientation or religion.
02:18 In the event of infringement, companies face big fines.
02:21 But Brussels insiders have pointed out some notable emissions, like eBay, AirBnB, Netflix and even Pornhub.
02:28 and I think scheduling...
02:30 (whooshing)