DSA Led to 50M Content Reversals
In its first two years, the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA) has enabled approximately 50 million content moderation decisions by platforms to be reversed. The figure highlights the initial impact of the regulation, which grants users greater power to challenge content takedowns and other moderation actions by large online platforms.
- Out of 165 million content moderation decisions appealed by users through the platforms' internal mechanisms, approximately 30% have been reversed. A significant portion of these initial moderation actions, 99% in the first half of 2025, were based on platforms' own terms and conditions rather than reports of illegal content. - The regulation grants users the right to an out-of-court dispute settlement process. In the first half of 2025, these bodies reviewed over 1,800 cases concerning content on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, and overturned the platforms' original decisions in 52% of the closed cases. - The DSA became fully applicable to all digital intermediaries on February 17, 2024. However, a group of 19 "Very Large Online Platforms" (VLOPs) and "Very Large Online Search Engines" (VLOSEs), each with over 45 million monthly active EU users, had to comply with stricter rules as early as August 2023. - Enforcement is handled by both the European Commission, which directly supervises the largest platforms, and national Digital Services Coordinators (DSCs) in each EU member state. These bodies have the power to request data, conduct inspections, and impose significant fines. - Non-compliance with the DSA can lead to substantial penalties, with fines reaching up to 6% of a company's global annual turnover. In December 2025, the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) received the first major fine under the DSA, amounting to €120 million for deceptive design and lack of transparency in advertising. - To increase transparency, the European Commission launched the DSA Transparency Database in September 2025. This database provides public access to the statements of reasons platforms issue for their content moderation decisions. - Beyond content moderation, the DSA bans targeted advertising to minors and ads based on sensitive personal data. It also requires online marketplaces to better trace traders to combat the sale of illegal goods. - All intermediary services are now required to publish annual transparency reports on their content moderation practices, including details on automated systems and the number of user complaints. VLOPs and VLOSEs must publish these reports every six months.
