EU: new rules to counter illegal content and online disinformation

The key points of the new proposal, the responsibility of the providers of intermediaries and obligations for large platforms.

The plague of the illegal game, together with the emergency of the growth of ludopathic behavior, are the themes mainly debated by professionals.

We have always tried to adopt tools that can transmit awareness and raise awareness of the user, to adopt behavior of Responsible gamenull Other measures have been adopted over time to stem illegality and encourage the safety and protection of players.

In this context the recent draft approved by the European Parliament, including measures aimed at counteracting illegal game.

The text in question was approved by the European Parliament with 530 votes in favor. The so-called Digital Service Act (DSA) will be subjected to the French Presidency of the Council, representing the Member States to start negotiations. There draft provides for a series of measures to counter illegal content, but not only. These measures will make sure that the platforms of online casino And sporting bets themselves, they are judged responsible for their algorithms and this will inevitably push them to moderate their contents.

Responsibility for intermediary providers

As anticipated, the bill establishes that The responsibility of the contents will also weigh on the providers of intermediaries, or also on online, social media and market platforms. In particular, the DSA provides for a mechanism of "notification and action" which involves the removal of the products, services or content judged illegal. As soon as a supplier saw himself receiving this notice, he should act immediately "without undue delay, taking into account the type of illegal notified content and the urgency to act”.

Very important, then, is the guarantee that these communications are not transmitted in an arbitrary and discriminatory way. They must respect the fundamental rights of suppliers including freedom of expression.

As for the markets, the latter will have to guarantee consumers the opportunity to purchase safe products online, with the obligation to trace traders.

Obligations for large platforms

In addition to these rules and basic obligations, there are further Indications referring to large online platformsnull We are talking about the Flopnull The latter expose the consumer to greater risks that concern the spread of illegal and harmful content (including legal ones) and for this reason they will be subject to specific obligations. The DSA would meet these problems through provisions about the compulsory assessments of risks, risk mitigation measures, independent audits and the transparency of the "recommendation systems", or algorithms that analyze user behavior.

The key points of the new proposal

il Parliament also proposed further changes to the Commission's proposalnull Some of these provide:

• The exemption for small and micro -enterprises
• targeted and more transparent advertising to better inform the recipients
• ban on targeting techniques involving minors or special categories
• possibility of compensation for any damages resulting from the failure to comply with the rules
• prohibition of deceptive techniques and "dark methods" by the platforms
• greater choice of positioning based on algorithms and less on profiling
• freedom of expression
• freedom and pluralism of the media
• Possibility to pay the services in anonymous mode

Arjan van 't Veer, Secretary General of European Lotterias, underlined the importance of this position:

"The members of European Lotterias firmly believe in a high level of consumer protection and are fully engaged in the Fight against illegal online gamenull The Digital Services Act provides a series of new provisions that could be advantageous for this purpose. And he hopes that these are available to its members, in particular a notice mechanism and improved action, the concept of trusted reporters and greater consumer protection and requirements to know their business ".

The new proposal, waiting to be discussed, will lead to a future official regulation probably already in 2023.