Social media – Image by Biljana Jovanovic from Pixabay
(BRUSSELS) – Google, Amazon and Facebook were among 17 large online services to receive information requests from the European Commission Thursday under the EU’s Digital Services Act.
The ‘Very Large Online Platforms’ and Search Engines (VLOPs and VLOSEs), designated on 25 April last year – are AliExpress, Amazon Store, AppStore, Bing, Booking.com, Facebook, Google Search, Google Play, Google Maps, Google Shopping, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube and Zalando.
The EU executive has requested the VLOPs and VLOSEs to provide more information on measures they have taken to comply with the obligation to give access, without undue delay, to the data that is publicly accessible on their online interface to eligible researchers.
Access to data by researchers is seen as important in the way the DSA ensures accountability and public scrutiny of platforms’ policies. Researcher access to publicly available data contributes to the goals of the DSA, says the Commission, which is ramping up its efforts in this area in view of upcoming events such as elections at national and EU level, as well as for an ongoing monitoring of the presence of illegal content and goods on online platforms.
The 17 VLOPs and VLOSEs must provide the requested information to the Commission by 8 February 2024, with the replies determining the Commission’s next steps.
Following their designation as Very Large Online Platforms or Search Engines, the 17 VLOPs and VLOSEs are required to comply with the full set of provisions introduced by the DSA, including the data access provision.
On 18 December 2023 the Commission opened formal infringement proceedings against X, formerly Twitter, on several grounds, included suspected breaches of the obligations concerning data access to researchers.
Supervision of the designated very large online platforms and search engines under DSA
