OTI Responds to European Consultation on Digital Services Act

In a filing with the European Commission on Friday, OTI outlined its views on the proposed Digital Services Act related to content moderation, competition, algorithmic decision-making, and advertising on large online platforms. The Commission launched a consultation to seek views from civil society, industry, and the public on the topics under consideration. The Act would implicate a broad scope of topics, including algorithmic transparency, political advertising, competition, and freedom of expression online.

OTI has done extensive work related to the topics being considered in the Digital Services Act, including our Transparency Reporting Toolkit on Content Takedowns, our subsequent report series on how internet platforms use algorithmic decision-making for a range of content curation purposes, and a recent submission to the European Commission on Google’s proposed acquisition of Fitbit. OTI is also one of the original authors of the Santa Clara Principles on Transparency and Accountability in Content Moderation, which outlines minimum standards that internet platforms must meet in order to provide meaningful transparency and accountability around their content moderation practices.

The following quote can be attributed to Spandi Singh, policy analyst at New America’s Open Technology Institute:

“As the European Commission continues to deliberate on the format and structure of the Digital Services Act, it should strive to develop a rights-respecting framework for transparency and accountability. In particular, European policymakers should consider the anti-competitive effects of concentrating data in the hands of few companies and how proposed rulemaking can encourage greater accountability from internet platforms around their growing power and influence as gatekeepers of the digital market. They should also consider how proposed requirements can address internet platforms’ increasingly concerning use of algorithmic decision making, particularly in content moderation, recommendation systems, and digital advertising. It is also vital that any proposed legislation or requirements do not infringe on the privacy and freedom of expression rights of users, both in the European Union and around the world.”