Guidelines on the Digital Services Act (DSA) for providers of online services

Earlier this year, the European Digital Services Act (DSA) came into force. In order to familiarize businesses with the new regulation, the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has drawn up guidelines. In these guidelines, ACM explains to what types of services the DSA applies, what rules the providers thereof need to comply with.

The DSA applies to a broad range of large and small businesses, including social-media platforms, search engines, online marketplaces, internet providers, and webhosting service providers, but several online stores and online forums, too, may fall under the scope of the DSA.

The draft guidelines was consulted in early 2024 among market participants in the digital sector. Their opinions have been included in the final version, which has now been published.

About the DSA

On 17 February 2024, the DSA came into force, which is a European law containing obligations for providers of online services for making the internet safer and more trustworthy. For example, these providers must have their complaint-handling systems in order, and they need to be transparent vis-à-vis their users about the rules that they use when deleting information or user accounts. The rules vary per type of business. For example, fewer rules apply to smaller businesses.