Browsing by Subject "Digital Services Act"

This thesis is about the liability of hosting services and how it was reformed by the Digital Services Act (DSA). In our lives hosting services are everywhere and their liability for information that is being stored or disseminated using their platforms is important. The DSA adopted the liability system for intermediary services that was present in the E-Commerce Directive with slight changes. These changes can have significant consequences regarding the liability of hosting services, especially for those that neglect to pay heed to the reform that has taken place. To answer the research question, the thesis introduces the liability of hosting services under the E-Commerce Directive and explores the legal fragmentation that was the result of the different interpretations of Member States, then takes a closer look at the liability system of the DSA for hosting services. In the assessment of the provisions of the DSA, the individual sections are constantly contrasted with the corresponding sections of the E-Commerce Directive. When it is available, the preceding case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Union and preparatory documents form EU institutions are also introduced in an effort to retrace the steps of legal development that resulted in what the final form of the DSA. Special attention is given to the potential liability systems that were discussed during consultation and were ultimately discarded. The main areas of the thesis are the following: categorization of intermediary services and more closely hosting services, the liability exemption for hosting services and the important definitions connected to it (e.g., ‘active role’ or acting ‘expeditiously’), monitoring obligation, automatic tools for detection of illegal content, own investigations of hosting services, notices and liability, indexing systems and vicarious liability. Some of these existed in the E-Commerce Directive, others are new additions. If appropriate, problems of interpretation are also discussed as the research found some contentious issues with the new act, especially with the new additions. The thesis concludes with a review of the most problematic parts of the reform and a brief evaluation based on the findings. The research found that in many ways the reform that tried to create a clearer and fairer system for online intermediaries brought even more questions that are up for further interpretation. There are potential clashes with sectoral EU legislation and many of the clarifications that were codified in the DSA had already been settled by the case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Union while the novelties are left without the support of their own case-law.

This research is focused on how effective the “right to contest” enshrined in recital 44 of the Digital Services Act is at protecting freedom of expression in online environments, namely, on social media platforms. The Digital Services Act is a proposal for a Regulation by the European Union, designed to harmonize certain aspects of internal market and strengthen the rights of individuals online. Social media platforms, especially those owned by the “Big Tech” companies, have become the center of public discourse. This centralization of public discourse leaves it vulnerable to exploitation by the tech companies. A string of recent events, culminating in the banning of the 45th president of the United States, Donald J. Trump, from Twitter and Facebook, have increased the intensity and volume of debates regarding the role of social media platforms and companies behind them in today’s society. As a result, these platforms find themselves under pressure from various stakeholders. Online platforms have a whole arsenal of tools to limit users, from shadow bans and labelling to de-platforming and demonetization. Moreover, platforms do not seem to have consistent rules regarding content moderation, which further diminishes certainty for all stakeholders involved: the users, the shareholders and state actors. The research aims to find if and how the Regulation tackles issues of social media platform operation. The research is guided by the following research question: does the “right to contest” enshrined in recital 44 and further in the Digital Services Act provide an adequate measure to foster freedom of expression online? The paper consists of the introduction, six parts of the main body and the conclusion. The first part is about history of web services, in which the paper discusses a shift in mentality towards cyber space with rights and responsibilities. The second part briefly touches upon basic challenges of platform governance, discussing issues of jurisdiction and enforcement. The third part describes the risks for society when significant power is concentrated in the hands of “Big Tech” companies. The fourth part focuses on social media platforms, the different ways they exploit users and possible efforts which can be undertaken to limit their negative influence. The fifth chapter is about freedom of expression online, its peculiarities, the practice thereof and reasons to safeguard it. Chapter six dives into detailed analysis of the “right to contest” with provisions which directly or indirectly affect freedom of expression online. The conclusion summarizes the positive and the negative points of the Regulation as regards freedom of expression and other relevant points. The research found that the Digital Services Act is insufficient at fostering freedom of expression online due to lack of provisions explicitly dedicated to safeguarding freedom of expression, in particular disturbing, offensive and shocking content, and its strong reliance on state actors to observe fundamental rights. It was concluded that the Regulation’s primary objective is to set a predictable environment which would allow all stakeholders involved to combat illegal content online. The research question was answered in the negative. Never the less, the redress system proposed by the Regulation for individuals to challenge certain decisions made by platforms was deemed to be effective, despite its numerous shortcomings.