Source: European Parliament
The claim that there was any secret deal between the Commission and X is manifestly unfounded. There has never been any secret deal, nor any proposal for any such secret deal, of any kind, offered to X during the ongoing proceedings, nor to any other entity regulated under the Digital Services Act (DSA).
All acts and decisions adopted by the Commission on the basis of the DSA[1] are taken within the limits of the Commission’s powers, following due process and subject to judicial review. In its actions, the Commission is bound by the principle of transparency.
At any point during the proceedings, before and after the issuing of preliminary findings, any provider that is subject to proceedings under the DSA may offer commitments to the Commission pursuant to Article 71 of the DSA to ensure compliance with its DSA obligations.
Where such commitments are accepted by the Commission, the relevant decisions are published in full transparency, pursuant to Article 80 of the DSA (for example the recently published commitment decision regarding Tik Tok Lite)[2].
The DSA aims to enable a safe, predictable and trusted online environment that facilitates innovation and in which fundamental rights enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU[3], in particular freedom of expression, are effectively protected. It does not censor users in the EU and protects them against over-removal of lawful content.
The DSA sets a series of ‘due diligence’ obligations on platforms, requiring them, for instance, to act effectively once they are notified that illegal content is accessible on their platform in the EU.
In this respect, the DSA does not stipulate whether content is illegal, which remains defined by national laws, and the Commission has no power to order the removal of content.