WFA position paper on the EU Digital Services Act

In December 2020, the European Commission published the Digital Services Act, a proposed legislation aimed at tackling illegal content online and promoting online advertising transparency.

The Digital Services Act serves as an update to the EU eCommerce Directive, the current legislation setting out how platforms should be regulated online. While the Digital Services Act maintains the online platforms will not be held liable for the presence of illegal content on their sites unless they become aware of it, the proposal introduces a number of measures aimed at making online platforms more accountable for the spread of illegal content on their sites. These measures could positively impact advertisers’ brand safety efforts and reduce the risk of advertising appearing next to and inadvertently funding illegal and harmful content.

According to the European Commission, there is also an accountability gap regarding how ads are placed online. As a result, the Digital Services Act proposal also puts forward a number of measures aimed at promoting online advertising transparency. While these obligations could help prevent tackle fraudulent advertising online and create more transparency in the placement of ads online, some of these measures could require advertisers to disclose commercially sensitive information.

WFA’s position paper can be downloaded below.