The European Union recently passed the Digital Services Act (DSA) in an effort to regulate the behaviour of…
The European Union recently passed the Digital Services Act (DSA) in an effort to regulate the behaviour of top tech firms operating in Europe.
The 19 initial companies chosen include five Alphabet subsidiaries, two Meta platforms divisions, two Microsoft companies, Twitter, and Alibaba’s AliExpress, which will be subject to the historic EU online content restrictions, according to EU industry chief Thierry Breton.
Google Maps, Google Play, Google Search, Google Shopping, and YouTube are among the 19 firms, as are Facebook and Instagram from Meta, the Amazon Marketplace, and the Apple App Store.
The other companies include Twitter, Wikipedia, Zalando, Booking.com, Pinterest, Snap Inc.’s Snapchat, TikTok, and AliExpress from Alibaba.
“We consider these 19 online platforms and search engines have become systematically relevant and have special responsibilities to make the internet safer,” Breton told reporters.
As per Reuters, the DSA requires the companies to do risk management, conduct external and independent auditing, share data with authorities and researchers and adopt a code of conduct by August.
The DSA aims to increase user protection, promote fair competition, and ensure transparency in the digital market. Also, it says the companies will have to do more to tackle disinformation, give more choices to users and ensure stronger protection for children or risk fines of as much as 6% of their global turnover.
Breton singled out Facebook’s content moderation system for criticism because of its role in building opinions on key issues. Twitter and TikTok also showed up high on Breton’s radar.
“Now that Facebook has been designated as a very large online platform, Meta needs to carefully investigate the system and fix it where needed ASAP…At the invitation of Elon Musk, my team and I will carry out a stress test live at Twitter’s headquarters in San Francisco,” he said.
This article will discuss what Nigeria and Africa can take from the recent EU’s Digital Services Act.
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What does the DSA do exactly?
In a clear context, the DSA aims to promote transparency in the digital market, requiring big tech firms to provide clear and comprehensive information about their practices, including how they use data and algorithms. It aims to create a safer digital space where users’ fundamental rights are protected and to establish a level playing field for businesses.
This is an essential aspect of regulating the behaviour of big tech firms as they often operate in an opaque manner, making it difficult for regulators to assess the impact of their practices.
If there is something notable that the DSA introduces, it is, perhaps, rules that make it easier for users to access and control their data.
This includes the right to data portability, which allows users to transfer their data from one service provider to another, and the right to be forgotten, which allows users to request the deletion of their personal data. These measures are crucial in protecting user privacy and promoting user autonomy.
It introduces a new regulation system for digital services, which places more responsibility on big tech firms to police their platforms for illegal content, such as hate speech and terrorist propaganda. This is a significant development, as it shifts the responsibility for content moderation from the government to the tech firms themselves.
The DSA aims to promote fair competition by preventing big tech firms from using their market power to suppress competition. This includes new rules that prevent big tech firms from favouring their products and services over their competitors. This is essential in promoting innovation and ensuring that smaller players in the digital market have a fair chance of success.
What Nigeria could take from the DSA
In a growing digital world where data and private information have become the needed ingredients for big tech firms and tech to create users and customer-centric products, clear stipulations and regulations must be established to limit the scope of that intrusion.
Common adages in our digital and knowledge-based society are that data is the “new currency” and “new oil” powering every human endeavour. African countries have leapfrogged into the global digital economy, with data as the transaction enabler. Hence, the need for a policy, legal and regulatory framework to curtail the excesses attached to the rise of digital data as the currency and oil for tech players in Africa.
Free market
In its most basic purpose, Nigeria and other African countries can mirror the DSA as a template to promote transparency in the digital market to ensure that top tech firms operating within their borders are held accountable for their actions.
This goes a long way to ensuring transparency in the entry and exit of players into industries. At least, it gives the confidence that there is some sort of ease in doing business and accessibility to regulators for sound regulations and policy advancement. Businesses and companies would richly profit from a space that is seen to promote efficiency and as well as transparency even though it might not be totally so in the end.
Data control and portability for users
Following the DSA’s successful adoption in Europe, African nations can adopt regulations that give consumers complete ownership and portability over their data and information. Therefore, customers can withdraw information and data afterwards or even delete such to be forgotten when companies need the information of users or customers to access or set up their profiles.
With the rising trend in gross misuse of information by companies, especially in the finance space, giving total control to users to withdraw and give information and data at any point in time, ensure users’ privacy and data protection instantly.
Hate speech regulation
Hate speech and widespread misinformation dominate the social and digital spheres throughout Africa. Africa has long desired a practical and proactive solution to that pressing problem.
However, a template like the DSA now provides African stakeholders and tech players with the necessary framework to compel sectors to act as a primary driver to purge hate speech and misinformation, should it be adopted. African nations can learn from this and develop their legislative frameworks to ensure that IT companies operating within their borders are held accountable for the information on their platforms.
Sanctions and fines
Finally, the DSA announces new measures to encourage the accountability of large internet companies, including fines of up to 6% of their annual turnover for infractions of the new regulations. This is a significant milestone because it ensures that major tech companies will be held accountable for their deeds and will have the incentive to follow the new laws.
African nations should take a cue from this and create enforcement techniques to ensure that digital companies operating within their borders are held responsible for their conduct.
In conclusion, Nigeria and other African countries can take much from the recent EU’s Digital Services Act for top tech firms in Europe. By promoting transparency, protecting user privacy, promoting fair competition, and ensuring accountability, African countries can ensure that top and emerging tech firms operating within their borders are held responsible for their actions and that users are protected.