Commission launches public consultation on the Implementing Regulation on transparency reporting under the DSA

Today, the European Commission has launched a public consultation to gather feedback on the Implementing Regulation on the templates that intermediary services and online platforms will have to use for their future transparency reports under the Digital Services Act (DSA).

The DSA requires providers of intermediary services and online platforms to publish periodic transparency reports on content moderation on their services. These reports must include information such as the number of orders providers have received from Member States’ judicial or administrative authorities, the human resources dedicated to content moderation, the number of accounts and items of content taken down voluntarily by the provider, and the accuracy and rate of error of their automated content moderation systems.

Since November 2023, designated Very Large Online Platforms and Search Engines published their first reports. Building on the assessment of the first reports, the Commission has decided to use the powers granted by the DMA to adopt an implementing regulation aimed at increasing the quality and level of harmonisation of the reports, to guarantee the same level of transparency and accountability across platforms. The implementing regulation, that is set to be adopted in the first months of 2024, will mandate the form and content of the reports by laying down mandatory templates. It also standardises the reporting periods for all service providers.

The Commission invites all providers of intermediary services, civil society organisations, researchers and others to submit their feedback on the implementing regulation until 24 January 2024.

The DSA introduces a completely new level of accountability through various transparency mechanisms. Besides their transparency reporting obligations, all online platforms are required to disclose their monthly active users, and designated Very Large Online Platforms and Search Engines have to establish ad repositories, publish audit reports, produce risk assessment reports, and provide researcher access.