A landmark European Union legislative framework (Regulation (EU) 2022/2065) designed to create a safer digital space by regulating online intermediaries, social media networks, digital marketplaces, and search engines. Fully applicable across all EU member states as of February 17, 2024, the Digital Services Act (DSA) updates and expands upon the EU’s 2000 e-Commerce Directive. It establishes a comprehensive legal framework for digital services accountability, content moderation, and platform transparency across the European Union. The DSA significantly updates the Electronic Commerce Directive 2000 in EU law by introducing graduated obligations based on service size and risk levels, and was proposed alongside the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The DSA applies to all digital intermediary services, including hosting services, online platforms (such as social networks, online marketplaces, pornographic platforms, app stores), and search engines.
Key Provisions Affecting Digital Marketing & AdTech
For marketers, media buyers, and adtech platforms, the DSA fundamentally alters how digital ads can be targeted, rendered, and documented:
- Mandatory Real-Time Ad Disclosures: For every advertisement displayed on an in-scope platform, users must be presented with immediate, clear, and unambiguous disclosures.
- Ban on Profiling Based on Sensitive Data: Article 26(3) of the DSA strictly prohibits presenting advertisements based on profiling using special categories of personal data (as defined under Article 9 of the GDPR).
- Absolute Ban on Targeted Ads to Minors: Platforms are completely forbidden from displaying profiling-based advertisements to users when the platform knows with reasonable certainty that the recipient is a minor.
- Prohibition of "Dark Patterns": Under Article 25, online platforms cannot design, organize, or operate their user interfaces in a way that deceives, manipulates, or impairs a user's ability to make free and informed choices.
- Algorithmic & Recommender Choice: Platforms that use algorithmic recommender systems must explain their key parameters and provide users with at least one option that is not based on profiling.
Tiered Scope of Application
The DSA applies to all digital intermediary services offering access to users within the EU, regardless of where the platform provider is established. However, obligations scale according to platform size and function:
- Tier 1: Intermediary Services: Internet Service Providers (ISPs), Domain Registrars
- Tier 2: Hosting Services: Cloud hosting, Web hosting, CDNs
- Tier 3: Online Platforms: App stores, online marketplaces, forums
- Tier 4: Very Large Platforms/Search Engines (VLOPs & VLOSEs): Meta, Google, TikTok, Amazon, YouTube
Table: DSA vs. GDPR vs. DMA
| Dimension | GDPR | DSA (Digital Services Act) | DMA (Digital Markets Act) |
| Primary Focus | User data privacy & legal processing bases | Platform governance, ad transparency & online safety | Fair competition among market Gatekeepers |
| Target Entities | Any business processing EU citizen data | Online intermediaries, platforms & search engines | Designated Big Tech Gatekeepers |
| Ad Impact | Consent requirements for cookie tracking & profiling | Ban on sensitive/minor ad profiling, mandatory ad labeling | Ban on cross-service data combination without explicit consent |
| Max Penalty | 4% of global annual turnover or €20M | Up to 6% of global annual turnover | Up to 10% of global annual turnover (20% for repeat) |
