Putting the Digital Services Act Into Practice: Enforcement, Access to Justice, and Global Implications

Abstract

The Digital Services Act was finally published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 27 October 2022. This publication marks the end of a years-long drafting and negotiation process, and opens a new chapter: that of its enforcement, practicable access to justice, and potential to set global precedents. The Act has been portrayed as Europe’s new „Digital Constitution“, which affirms the primacy of democratic rulemaking over the private transnational ordering mechanisms of Big Tech. With it, the European Union aims once again to set a global standard in the regulation of the digital environment. But will the Digital Services Act be able to live up to its expectations, and under what conditions?

Keywords: Digital Services Act, Online Platforms, Content Moderation, Fundamental Rights, Big Tech, Platform Governance, Platform Regulation, Brussels effect, Targeted Advertising, Intermediary liability