Digital Services Act and the responsibility of platforms: Financial expert warns of impending violations

Digital Services Act and the responsibility of platforms: Financial expert warns of impending violations

According to a report by www.tagesschau.de, the EU's Digital Services Act states that too much dangerous and problematic content on major platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and X is still not being deleted or is only being deleted very slowly. What is particularly worrying is that only one in three pieces of content about eating disorders, self-harm and suicide are deleted, even though minors in particular should be better protected on the Internet.

A new study by the non-governmental organization “Reset” has come to the conclusion that the platforms do not delete data here at all or only hesitantly and that this may violate the new EU regulations, the Digital Services Act (DSA). It was available to NDR and “Süddeutscher Zeitung” in advance.

The DSA prescribes special protection for minors and imposes special rules on large networks, in particular so-called risk reduction measures such as deleting, hiding or suppressing content. The deletion rate on Instagram is 30 percent after reports of postings about suicide and self-harm, on X it was only 13 percent, and on TikTok the deletion rate was just one percent. Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate among mental illnesses, which illustrates the importance of consistently deleting or hiding such content.

The platforms point to extensive security measures that they have already taken and emphasize that they are working with experts to support users at risk. But the fact that problematic content is still so widespread shows that additional measures are needed to ensure compliance with the DSA. Failure to do so could lead to tighter regulations and a loss of consumer confidence. There is a need to monitor platforms more closely and ensure that they are fulfilling their responsibilities in protecting minors. Pressure from the EU and the public to hold the platforms more accountable is likely to increase in the future.