The Authority Consumer & Market (ACM) reminds online platforms of their responsibility for reliable online information during election time. They must deal carefully with reports of illegal content. They should also not simply block accounts or remove content without clear substantiation.
Manon Leijten, director ACM: "Large online platforms have many users. Under the Digital Services Act (DSA), they must have a transparent and careful policy regarding the content on their platforms and take effective measures against illegal content. This is especially important during elections. Taking these measures is not only a legal, but also the social duty of large online platforms."
The ACM informed 12 major online platforms, such as Facebook, Snap, TikTok and X, by letter in July about the upcoming Lower House elections in the Netherlands and their DSA obligations. The ACM also asked these platforms to complete a questionnaire on the measures they are taking to protect a reliable online public debate during election time in the Netherlands. On September 15, the ACM is organizing a roundtable specifically for major platforms and search engines, other relevant regulators, the European Commission and NGOs to discuss their role and approach. In this way, the ACM will ensure that an unambiguous picture emerges of the obligations arising from the DSA in view of the elections at the end of October and about measures platforms should take to prevent infringement. Consider, for example, countering illegal hate content, rogue foreign interference and disinformation surrounding the elections on their platform.
The DSA requires very large online platforms to self-identify and address systemic risks that follow from the setup or use of their service. An example of such a systemic risk is a negative effect on the public debate and election process. The ACM oversees platforms based in the Netherlands, for example if they do not properly handle reports of illegal content. The European Commission has exclusive jurisdiction to supervise the very large online platforms, such as TikTok, Facebook, Snap and X. The ACM works closely with the European Commission and other national and European regulators.
The DSA does not determine what is illegal on the Internet - that is regulated by other laws such as the Criminal Code or privacy laws. What the DSA does regulate is how online platforms should handle reports of illegal content: it should be easy for anyone to report, and platforms should respond quickly and give good reasons for what they do with the report. The ACM encourages online users to report it to the ACM if they cannot work it out with an online platform.
