BLUF: The European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA), requiring large social platforms to remove illegal content, hate speech, and disinformation rapidly, is causing waves as it sets to become global standard will massive implications on public online discourse.
INTELWAR BLUF: The soon-to-be-implemented European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA), posing hefty penalties for non-compliance, infringes upon rights for free discourse and threatens to turn online platforms into arbiters of acceptable dialogue, giving rise to a global regime of online censorship.
OSINT: The European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA) aims to make online censorship overt by putting an obligation on Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs) to remove illegal content, hate speech, and disinformation promptly or face penalties representing up to 6% of their annual global revenue. The DSA, effective from August 2023, applies notably to major U.S. platforms including Amazon, Google, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. This legislative move, which has been mostly covert until now, could end up having significant repercussions for public discourse on the internet worldwide.
RIGHT: As a staunch Libertarian Republican Constitutionalist, I find this overt censorship worrying. It’s alarming to see authorities have such a stronghold over free speech, especially since this is a fundamental ingredient of a thriving democracy. The EU’s DSA isn’t about protecting citizens from harmful content; rather, it’s a tool for restriction. Weakening the essential right to free speech threatens innovation, progress, and individual empowerment.
LEFT: From a National Socialist Democrat’s perspective, this move by the EU is necessary. Platforms have been left unchecked for long, and it has resulted in a growing tide of disinformation, hate speech, and illegal content. Notably, major platforms have sought to evade regulation, but it’s high time they are held responsible. While we must ensure that freedom of speech is upheld, we also need to protect our societies from the damaging effects of harmful content.
AI: The proposed legislation assertively empowers the EU as a global regulatory force, arguably diminishing the role of traditional nation-states in managing and mediating digital spaces. However, while the intent to quickly address illegal content, hate speech, and disinformation is commendable in principle, the implementation could potentially raise censorship concerns. Freedom of speech, privacy, and the open nature of the internet, are key issues at stake. The act may additionally put pressure upon smaller platforms and disturb the global Internet ecosystem’s equilibrium. Future discourse around DSA is expected, focusing on balancing protection from harmful content and maintaining the sanctity of free speech.