All posts tagged: Digital Services Act

Shein to roll out age checks in EU after sex dolls scandal – POLITICO

Shein to roll out age checks in EU after sex dolls scandal – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

“All age-restricted products” will be behind that layer of age checking, Zhu said. The Commission is the primary supervisor of Shein under the Digital Services Act, the EU law designed to limit the risks of online platforms to users. Shein is classified as a Very Large Online Platform with over 45 million users and can face fines up to 6 percent of its global annual revenue for breaches of the rules. The Commission did not immediately respond to POLITICO’s request for comment. Shein is also testing the Commission’s age verification app, or “mini wallet” as it’s sometimes called, Zhu said. This blueprint for an app to check age online was developed by the Commission and is currently being tested by six EU countries. “Of course it was totally unacceptable what has happened,” Zhu said, referring to the child-like sex dolls and other illegal content. But it “is not the first time that happened to a marketplace and it also happened to multiple marketplaces,” Zhu said. Source link

WhatsApp to face fresh scrutiny as EU decides it’s a big online platform – POLITICO

WhatsApp to face fresh scrutiny as EU decides it’s a big online platform – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

The verdict also lands as countries such as France are actively discussing restrictions on social media platforms for children. The decision focuses particularly on WhatsApp Channels in which admins can broadcast announcements to groups of people in a feed, making it different from the messaging feature. WhatsApp’s private messaging service is explicitly excluded. WhatsApp was aware that the decision was coming as far back as August, when it reported that Channels had approximately 51.7 million users in the EU. That crossed the EU’s threshold for Very Large Online Platforms with over 45 million users in the EU. Meta now has four months to assess and mitigate systemic risks on its platform. Those risks include the spread of illegal content, as well as threats to civic discourse, elections, fundamental rights and health. “WhatsApp Channels continue to grow in Europe and globally. As this expansion continues, we remain committed to evolving our safety and integrity measures in the region, ensuring they align with relevant regulatory expectations and our ongoing responsibility to users,” WhatsApp spokesperson Joshua Breckman said …

EU probes Elon Musk’s X following Grok sexual images – POLITICO

EU probes Elon Musk’s X following Grok sexual images – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

The new investigation will look into whether the company properly assessed and mitigated the risks of integrating Grok, particularly those of “manipulated sexually explicit images” including some that “may amount to child sexual abuse material,” the Commission said. But the investigation “is much broader” than these images, a senior Commission official said during a briefing. The chatbot may have generated as many as 3 million non-consensual sexual images and 20,000 child sexual abuse images in the 11 days before it made changes to stop the spread of such photos, an estimate by civil society found. The image-generating feature of Grok went viral just before the end of 2025, as users instructed the chatbot to alter images of real people. | Dilara Irem Sancar/Anadolu via Getty Images On top of the new investigation, the Commission will expand a 2023 probe to look into the impact of X’s decision, announced last week, to switch the algorithm for its social media platform to a Grok-based system. The Commission said Monday it could take interim steps — for example, …

EU Parliament backs Thierry Breton in free speech spat with Washington – POLITICO

EU Parliament backs Thierry Breton in free speech spat with Washington – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Calling the sanctions “an unacceptable personalisation of EU policy, a dangerous precedent for the independence of the European Institutions and an attack on the EU’s regulatory sovereignty,” the parliament’s top officials added: “The European Parliament and all other EU institutions should jointly ensure that similar attacks against current or former members of the EU institutions are met with a systematic and coordinated response.” The right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists group, the political home of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and the far-right Europe of Sovereign Nations group did not support the statement. Breton and four other European nationals were targeted by the U.S. sanctions in late December. The penalties were the first Washington has levied at an EU policymaker and marked a new low in transatlantic relations. The statement added that the “Parliament welcomes the Commission’s decision to grant legal and financial assistance” to Breton. Breton welcomed the statement of support. “When bullied, the EU must stand firm — on principles & on action,” he wrote on social media. “I welcome the European Parliament’s rejection …

US pressure revives call for powerful EU tech regulator – POLITICO

US pressure revives call for powerful EU tech regulator – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

“The central question is whether a single digital regulator should be established, at national level, coordinating responsibilities currently spread across multiple authorities whilst ensuring a more integrated consistent approach to enforcement,” Portuguese Minister for State Reform Gonçalo Matias wrote in an invitation for an October summit with 13 countries, seen by POLITICO.  Although the pitch proved controversial, it received some support in the summit’s final declaration. “The potential establishment of a single digital regulator at national or EU level can consolidate responsibilities, ensure coherent enforcement of EU digital legislation and foster an innovation-friendly regulatory culture,” the 13 countries said.  That group didn’t include countries that are traditionally skeptical of handing power to a Brussels-backed agency, such as Hungary, Slovakia and Poland.  Isolating tech enforcement in an independent agency could also limit the interplay with the Commission’s other enforcement powers, such as on antitrust matters, Mariniello argued.  Even for advocates such as Geese, there is a potential downside to reopening the debate at such a critical moment for digital enforcement. “The world is watching Europe to …

EU should ban AI nudification apps in wake of Grok scandal, say lawmakers – POLITICO

EU should ban AI nudification apps in wake of Grok scandal, say lawmakers – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Such systems should “be banned from the EU market” under the bloc’s AI law, they say. The call is signed by lawmakers from groups including the center-right European People’s Party, the center-left Socialists and Democrats, the Greens, the liberal Renew and The Left. Following the scandal over X, the Commission requested additional information and ordered X to retain all Grok-related documents and data until the end of the year. X announced late Wednesday that it would stop users from “editing of images of real people in revealing clothes such as bikinis.” Yet POLITICO was able to verify that users in Brussels, Paris and London were still able to generate images of people in bikinis on Thursday morning. The lawmakers said it wasn’t sufficient to tackle the problem using only the bloc’s platform law, the Digital Services Act, which sets content moderation standards for platforms such as X. They asked the Commission to “confirm these systems are banned from the EU market under the AI Act or other EU legislation.” Under the AI law, certain AI …

Poland faces millions in EU fines as president vetoes tech bill – POLITICO

Poland faces millions in EU fines as president vetoes tech bill – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Deputy Digital Minister Dariusz Standerski said in a TV interview that, “since the president decided to veto this law, I’m assuming he is also willing to have these costs [of a potential fine] charged to the budget of the President’s Office.” Nawrocki’s refusal to sign the bill brings back bad memories of Warsaw’s years-long clash with Brussels over the rule of law, a conflict that began when Nawrocki’s Law and Justice party rose to power in 2015 and started reforming the country’s courts and regulators. The EU imposed €320 million in penalties on Poland from 2021-2023. Warsaw was already in a fight with the Commission over its slow implementation of the tech rulebook since 2024, when the EU executive put Poland on notice for delaying the law’s implementation and for not designating a responsible authority. In May last year Brussels took Warsaw to court over the issue. If the EU imposes new fines over the rollout of digital rules, it would “reignite debates reminiscent of the rule-of-law mechanism and frozen funds disputes,” said Jakub Szymik, …

Polish president aligns with Trump to block Brussels’ Big Tech law – POLITICO

Polish president aligns with Trump to block Brussels’ Big Tech law – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Nawrocki argued that while the bill’s stated aim of protecting citizens — particularly minors — was legitimate, the Polish bill would grant excessive power to government officials over online content, resulting in “administrative censorship.”  “I want this to be stated clearly: a situation in which what is allowed on the internet is decided by an official subordinate to the government resembles the construction of the Ministry of Truth from George Orwell’s novel 1984,” Nawrocki said in a statement — echoing the U.S.’s stance on the law. Nawrocki also warned that allowing authorities to decide what constitutes truth or disinformation would erode freedom of expression “step by step.” He called for a revised draft that would protect children while ensuring that disputes over online speech are settled by independent courts. Deputy Prime Minister and Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski dismissed Nawrocki’s position, accusing the president of undermining online safety and siding with digital platforms.  “The president has vetoed online safety,” Gawkowski told a press briefing Friday afternoon, arguing the law would have protected children from predators, families from disinformation …

Former EU tech czar says US sanctions against him put Brussels on ‘dangerous path’ – POLITICO

Former EU tech czar says US sanctions against him put Brussels on ‘dangerous path’ – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

“If we accept that, as a European commissioner, you can be ostracized, blamed, and punished for carrying out the mandate entrusted to you, then we are heading down an extraordinarily dangerous path,” Breton said Tuesday on RTL. “If we allow this situation to continue, it would mean that those who succeed me and have to exercise their European mandate would be intimidated and prevented from doing so.” “The European Commission cannot show any sign of weakness… European institutions must respond with the utmost severity,” he added. Breton said he had spoken at length with French President Emmanuel Macron after being sanctioned. The former tech industry executive, who resigned from his role as commissioner for internal market last year over claims Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen was trying to push him out, has received widespread support in Europe since the U.S. decision against him. In a statement, the Commission said it had “requested clarifications from the U.S. authorities” and would “if needed … respond swiftly and decisively.” Source link

The EU is in a political pressure cooker over its online rules – POLITICO

The EU is in a political pressure cooker over its online rules – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Missouri Republican Senator Eric Schmitt called for the use of Magnitsky sanctions, which are financial measures that can cause significant operational headaches including asset freezes and barring U.S. entities from trading with sanctioned entities.  While they are normally reserved for serious human rights violations like war crimes or the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the Trump administration has already used them to go after another person deemed to be a modern agent of censorship.  In July, the Treasury and State departments announced Magnitsky sanctions against Brazilian Judge Alexandre de Moraes, including for suppressing “speech that is protected under the U.S. Constitution.”  De Moraes has drawn the same criticism as EU officials from the Trump administration and its allies, including Musk.  Counteraction The Commission also faces heat from the other side, with EU country leaders and European Parliament lawmakers demanding a more political response to the situation.  The EU’s tech rules have been a regular topic of debate at the Parliament’s plenary sessions, and several lawmakers have indicated the U.S. travel restrictions could be on …