Entrepreneurship

European Commission: Two years of the Digital Services Act – EU Commission takes positive stock

February 17, 2026. Two years ago today, the Digital Services Act (DSA) came into force. Thanks to this EU regulation, users in the EU have more rights on the internet, online platforms are more accountable and the online environment is more transparent. The DSA gives users the right to challenge moderation decisions. Since its application, 50 million content moderation decisions that users had objected to via the platforms’ internal mechanisms have been reversed. That is around 30 percent of the 165 million decisions.

Symbolic image of digitization / pixabay geralt

Platform terms of use

In the first half of 2025, 99% of content moderation decisions were made by platforms to enforce their own terms of use, rather than to remove content reported as illegal under EU or national law.

Examinations by out-of-court redress bodies

In the first half of 2025, out-of-court redress bodies examined over 1,800 disputes related to content on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok in the EU. They overturned the platforms’ decisions in 52 percent of the completed cases. As a result, content and accounts could be restored faster and more cost-effectively than in court.

Advertising to minors banned on online platforms in the EU

The DSA has also led to concrete changes in terms of the safety and well-being of users. Thanks to this legislation, targeted ads for minors have been banned on online platforms in the EU since 2024. The DSA also obliges online marketplaces to counter the proliferation of illegal goods, improve traceability of traders and quickly inform customers who have purchased illegal products on their marketplace and offer them options for redress.

Better access for researchers

Another benefit of this legislation is that researchers and civil society have unprecedented access to information on the content moderation processes and practices of platforms in the EU. In addition, they can hold platforms accountable for their decisions.

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