EU Digital Services Act — the verified record, live

The Digital Services Act (Regulation (EU) 2022/2065) is the European Union's horizontal framework for regulating online intermediaries, from hosting providers and marketplaces to social networks and search engines. It became fully applicable in February 2024 and imposes tiered obligations: baseline duties on all intermediaries offering services in the EU, and substantially heavier duties — systemic risk assessment, independent audits, researcher data access, transparency reporting — on very large online platforms and search engines designated by the European Commission. The Commission directly supervises designated platforms and has opened a series of formal proceedings covering areas such as recommender systems, minors' protection, dark patterns and advertising transparency. Smaller services are supervised nationally through Digital Services Coordinators in each Member State. For platforms, advertisers, brands and litigators, the DSA is now the principal reference point for content moderation, notice-and-action and platform accountability disputes across the single market.

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as of 2026-08-31 · refreshed from scheduled releases

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Frequently asked

Who enforces the Digital Services Act?

Enforcement is split. The European Commission directly supervises very large online platforms and very large online search engines — those it has designated as reaching more than 45 million average monthly EU users. All other intermediaries are supervised by national Digital Services Coordinators, one per Member State, supported by other competent authorities and coordinated through the European Board for Digital Services.

Who does the DSA apply to?

It applies to providers of intermediary services offered to recipients in the EU, regardless of where the provider is established. That covers mere-conduit and caching services, hosting providers, online platforms (including marketplaces and social networks) and online search engines. Obligations scale with the type and size of the service, with the heaviest duties reserved for designated very large platforms and search engines.

What are the penalties under the DSA?

Fines can reach up to 6% of a provider's total worldwide annual turnover for breaches of DSA obligations, with lower caps for supplying incorrect or misleading information. Periodic penalty payments are also available, and in serious, persistent cases enforcement can escalate towards temporary restriction of the service. National coordinators hold equivalent powers for non-designated services.

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