[Answered] Do you think the EU’s Digital Services Act can make social media more responsible? Give reasons in support of your arguments.

The basic idea behind the Digital Services Act is- what is illegal in the real world, should be illegal in the online world as well. It aims to create a safer online world. The DSA defines clear responsibilities and accountability for providers of intermediary services, and in particular online platforms, such as social media and marketplaces.

The following provisions of EU’s Digital Services Act make clear that it can make social media more responsible:

• Transparency obligations: All intermediaries will have to produce transparency reports, including information about type of illegal content, average time needed for taking action and about the algorithms they use to recommend content to users.
• Internal complaints mechanism: Online platforms are required to put in place an internal complaints mechanism, for the protection of users’ due process rights such as the possibility to challenge content moderation decisions.
• Dispute settlement: All online platforms must submit information about the number of disputes filed, the outcome of such disputes etc. with the out-of-court dispute settlement bodies.
• Restrictions: It put ban on online platforms when they target children or when they use special categories of personal data, such as ethnicity, political views, sexual orientation, hate speech etc.
• Compensation: It specifies fines of up to 6 per cent of annual global revenues for any damages resulting from platforms and failure to comply with the rules.
• Very large online platforms (VLOPs) pose particular risks in the dissemination of illegal content and societal harms. Specific rules are foreseen for platforms reaching more than 10% of 450 million consumers in Europe.

In the present time, digital services have enabled the publication and propagation of harmful content, such as online disinformation, with major political and societal consequences. It is vital to introduce measures for the protection of fundamental rights and a safe digital world.