The Digital Services Act of the European Union entered into force on 16 November 2022. The Act will be applied to Finnish online intermediary services only as of 17 February 2024, but already in February 2023 online platforms will have to report the average number of active end users on their websites. The Ministry of Transport and Communications has established a working group for preparing the national implementation and oversight of the Digital Services Act.
The purpose of the Act is to protect users from illegal content online and to ensure users' fundamental rights. The Act defines responsibilities and accountability for providers of intermediary services. It applies to online platforms, such as social media services, online marketplaces, internet search engines and other similar applications.
It requires the online platforms to be more transparent about the content recommender system they use. At the same time, the service providers' responsibility for illegal content will be increased. Special obligations will be imposed on online platforms and search engines with at least 45 million users in the EU. These operators must analyse and reduce the risks of their services, for example dissemination of illegal content.
The Ministry of Transport and Communications has set up a working group with representatives from several authorities to prepare the implementation of the Digital Services Act. The group will, among other things, consider how the EU Digital Services Act could be monitored in Finland.
What's next?
The government proposal on legislation relating to the implementation of the Digital Services Act is due to be submitted to Parliament in autumn 2023. In the preparatory phase, stakeholders will be consulted and the proposal will be circulated for comments.
Inquiries:
Kreetta Simola, Senior Ministerial Adviser, kreetta.simola(at)gov.fi, tel. +358 50 568 7155
Roosa Patrakka, Senior Officer, roosa.patrakka(at)gov.fi, tel. + 358 50 431 7036
Press release, 28 October 2022 Digital Services Act enters into force in November to provide increased user rights protection
Gateway to Information on Government Projects: National implementation of the EU Digital Services Act (in Finnish)
Press release by the Council of the European Union, 4 October 2022: Digital Services Act: Council gives final approval to the protection of user rights online
Digital Services Act in the Official Journal of the European Union, 27 October 2022
Ministry of Finance: EU digital statutes lay the ground rules for operating in the digital age
