The GDPR protects your personal data; the Digital Services Act, Regulation (EU) 2022/2065, governs how online platforms handle content, advertising and their relationship with users. For a citizen, this means having concrete tools when content is removed, when an account is suspended, when you want to understand why you are seeing an advert or when you come across an illegal product on a marketplace.
Who it applies to
The DSA covers intermediary services operating in the European Union: internet access providers, hosting services, online platforms such as social networks and marketplaces, and search engines. Obligations grow with size: very large online platforms and search engines, those with at least 45 million monthly active users in the Union, have additional duties.
1. Reporting illegal content
Article 16 requires hosting services, platforms included, to set up easy-to-use mechanisms for reporting content you consider illegal. A good notice should contain:
- an explanation of why the content is illegal;
- the exact location of the content;
- your name and email address, with some exceptions;
- a statement that the notice is made in good faith.
The platform must confirm receipt and inform you of its decision, indicating the available means of redress.
2. Knowing why your content was restricted
If a platform removes your post, reduces its visibility, suspends your account or blocks monetisation, Article 17 requires it to give you a clear and specific statement of reasons. It must state, among other things, what was decided, the facts on which the decision is based, whether automated means were used, the law or terms-of-service clause breached and the available means of redress.
3. Challenging the decision
| Tool | DSA article | How it works |
|---|---|---|
| Internal complaint | Art. 20 | Free complaint-handling system, available for at least six months after the decision; the review cannot be solely automated |
| Out-of-court settlement | Art. 21 | Certified, independent bodies you can turn to if the internal complaint does not satisfy you |
| Complaint to the authority | Art. 53 | Complaint to the Digital Services Coordinator of the Member State where you live |
| Court | — | The DSA does not take away the option of going to court |
The internal complaint works both ways: you can use it if your content was removed, and also if the platform decided not to remove content you had reported.
In Italy the Digital Services Coordinator is the Communications Regulatory Authority (AGCOM).
4. More transparent advertising
Article 26 provides that, for each advert, the platform must let you understand clearly and in real time:
- that it is advertising;
- on whose behalf it is shown and who pays for it;
- the main parameters used to decide to show it to you, and how to change them.
The same article bans adverts based on profiling that uses special categories of personal data, such as health, religion or sexual orientation. Article 28 bans profiled advertising aimed at minors.
5. Understanding and choosing your feed
Article 27 requires platforms to explain in their terms the main parameters of their recommender systems and the options for changing them. For very large platforms and search engines, Article 38 requires at least one feed option not based on profiling. On many social networks this choice appears as a chronological or non-personalised view.
6. Interfaces without tricks
Article 25 prohibits designing interfaces that deceive or manipulate users or impair their ability to make free and informed decisions. This covers, for example, repeatedly asking you to make a choice you have already made, or cancellation procedures far more complicated than signing up.
7. Safer shopping on marketplaces
Article 30 requires marketplaces to collect and, as far as possible, verify information about professional sellers, and to show consumers certain essential details. If you find out you bought an illegal product, Article 32 provides that, in certain cases, the platform must inform buyers.
A concrete example
A social network suspends your account claiming you broke its spam rules, when you only shared the same event in three groups. You can demand a specific statement of reasons, file an internal complaint within six months asking for a review that is not automated and, if the outcome does not convince you, turn to a certified out-of-court dispute settlement body. Keeping screenshots of the notification and the reasons will help you at every step.
In short
- The DSA governs how platforms handle content, advertising and complaints in the EU.
- You can report illegal content and receive a reasoned answer.
- Any restriction of your content or account must be explained and can be challenged through an internal complaint, out-of-court bodies or the national coordinator.
- Adverts must be transparent and cannot rely on sensitive data or target minors with profiling.
- Large platforms must offer you a feed not based on profiling.