What is the Digital Services Act (DSA)?

Added: 2026-05-27

[00:00:01]What is the DSA?

[00:00:03]The DSA is a European Union regulation that took effect in February 2024 and applies across the entire European Union.

[00:00:12]Its stated purpose is to make the internet safer [music] and more trustworthy.

[00:00:18]This sounds good in theory, but the reality is far more complicated, and here is why.

[00:00:24]The DSA requires tech [music] platforms to remove so-called illegal content.

[00:00:29]This is defined as content that violates EU law or any law of any EU member state. But, it doesn't stop here.

[00:00:38]Platforms must also act against hate speech, disinformation, and systemic risks, including alleged negative effects on civic discourse and serious negative consequences [music] to a person's mental well-being.

[00:00:54]These terms lack clear legal definitions. In many EU countries where speech laws are already strict, the line between legal and illegal speech is very thin, giving platforms significant leeway to censor disfavored views.

[00:01:10]The DSA specifically targets very large online platforms and very large online search engines, the services millions of us use every day.

[00:01:21]They face the strictest obligations and the heaviest penalties if they fail [music] to comply.

[00:01:27]So, how is content actually removed?

[00:01:30]Each EU country appoints a digital services coordinator to enforce the DSA at the national level, working closely with the European Commission.

[00:01:40]Usually, the process starts with a notice, either from an ordinary user or a so-called trusted flagger.

[00:01:47]Trusted flaggers are organizations whose reports get priority, meaning flagged content can be reviewed and removed almost immediately. Faced with the risk of massive fines, platforms often remove content even [music] if it's legal. And when content is mass reported, overblocking becomes common. And this doesn't just affect platforms. [music] It affects you, the user. When users know their content is heavily regulated under the law, self-censorship becomes the default. Users think twice before sharing controversial views, and over time this creates [music] a highly sanitized internet where free speech is stifled. The DSA can even overwrite national laws. That means a rule for interpretation from [music] one EU country can apply across all member states, creating a lowest common denominator approach to censorship in which the strictest speech laws in any EU country apply across the block.

[00:02:48]Platforms may even be required to act [music] against users outside the EU if their content is considered illegal in any EU country and is accessible within the Union.

[00:03:00]In short, the DSA isn't really about safety. It's about who decides what can be said online.

[00:03:07]It concentrates power in the hands of authorities, trusted flaggers, [music] and large platforms while leaving the boundaries of what is legal online unclear.

[00:03:17]When the rules are vague and penalties [music] high, platforms will always choose silence over speech.

[00:03:25]And when lawful speech disappears [music] without explanation, free speech is under attack.

[00:03:31]X recently launched a landmark legal challenge [music] against a 120 million euros fine under the Digital Services Act, [music] or DSA, an EU censorship law.

[00:03:45]ADF International is proud to support this case, [music] which is crucial to protect free speech online.

[00:03:52]ADF International is on the front lines of the global struggle to preserve freedom in the digital public [music] square because everyone has the God-given right to speak and live out the truth.